Prof. Dr. Hilmi Berk Çelikoğlu, a faculty member at Istanbul Technical University's Faculty of Civil Engineering, led a pioneering research project combining artificial intelligence and intelligent transportation systems to prevent traffic accidents, one of Turkey's most important social problems, in his scientific career. In the project titled "Mixed Artificial Neural Network Methods for Road Safety Regulations", he aimed to transition from a reactive safety approach to a proactive safety vision by managing the development processes of artificial neural network architectures that perform both statistical safety modeling and real-time accident prediction.

Within the scope of the project, an integrated modeling structure was developed that predicts accident risk with real-time data in order to reduce the number of accidents with death and serious injury. For this purpose, accident and traffic data collected from the Turkish road network were analyzed with multivariate statistical methods and region-specific "safety indexes" were created. These indices, together with real-time traffic flow variables, were given as input to different artificial neural network models, creating a system that predicts possible accidents and especially secondary accidents.

"Traffic accidents are not fate, they are preventable events. Using artificial intelligence to predict the probability of an accident seconds in advance and warn drivers, it took my scientific vision and engineering approach to the next level. Establishing this hybrid structure that combines statistical models and artificial neural networks has solidified my researcher identity to build a bridge between data science and transportation security," says Çelikoğlu.

Prof. Dr. Hilmi Berk Çelikoğlu and his team, who led the project, not only developed an academic model, but also revealed how this model can be integrated into intelligent transportation systems (ITS) to inform drivers and regulate traffic flow. This system has the potential to play a critical role in preventing chain accidents that may occur after an accident occurs.

While ITU turns artificial intelligence and big data into a shield for traffic safety, it also gives our pioneering academics such as Prof. Dr. Hilmi Berk Çelikoğlu the opportunity to make a lasting impact in the scientific world and society. This project of Çelikoğlu is the product of an environment in which our university transforms its engineering knowledge into concrete benefits to protect human life.