July 16, 2025

The academics of the Faculty of Agriculture at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University visited the villages within the scope of the Science Communication project and listened to the problems of the poultry breeders. In line with the demands from the breeders regarding the early detection of diseases, the academics developed the "BroBot" robot, which can autonomously scan and map every square meter in the poultry houses.

BroBot, which monitors a large number of data with the sensors on it, instantly notifies the farm owners, veterinarians, or caregivers when it detects any problems among the poultry. "BroBot" can instantly intervene with the spraying system on it to prevent the spread of diseases after detecting it, spraying the chickens in that area locally and taking the dead chickens out of the coop. With the artificial intelligence-supported robot that enables chickens to be mobilized at the desired level, it is aimed to protect the health of the flock and increase productivity up to 3–4 tons per poultry house by continuous scanning in the poultry houses.

Erol Özvar, President of the Council of Higher Education, stated that they want universities to play a pioneering, guiding and active role in ensuring regional development by taking into account the needs, potential and capacity of their region. Emphasizing that universities contributing more to their regions will directly serve Türkiye's development goals, Özvar stated that they have ensured that universities are transformed into institutions that produce solutions to local needs and support regional development through their scientific production, especially with the studies they have carried out in recent years. He noted that one of the most important factors that will determine the future of agricultural production, which is a strategic issue, is the dissemination of digital technologies and the adoption of innovative practices.

Academics continue to work on the functioning of "BroBot" at the chicken production farms in Dümrek village. ÇOMÜ Rector Prof. Cüneyt Erenoğlu stated that they identified the needs of farmers and created projects with the Science Communication program and emphasized that the system enables the removal of sick or dead animals from the poultry house environment within minutes without the need for any human intervention. In this way, he noted that mass deaths will be prevented and an important contribution will be made to the national economy.

ÇOMÜ Vice Rector Prof. Arda Aydın, one of the project coordinators, stated that they held direct interviews with the producers during their field visits within the scope of science communication. Stating that BroBot is Türkiye's first domestic and national poultry health monitoring robot, Aydın said that unlike its counterparts abroad, BroBot can not only detect sick or dead broilers, but also automatically take these animals out of the poultry house by taking them into its own internal chamber. Prof. Aydın emphasized that BroBot increases the mobility of the broilers thanks to the tasks it performs 4-5 times a day, and thus, an increase in productivity of up to 3-4 tons is achieved in a 20 thousand poultry house environment.