Kutluhan Aktar

Independent Researcher | Product, AI, and Software Developer | Maker | Proof-of-Concept Solutions

Hi, welcome to my portfolio website. I am an independent researcher focusing on demonstrating the ideas and solutions I conceptualized regarding various domains and disciplines, from industrial operations to agriculture. In relation to the research subject and the experiments I am conducting, I develop products, neural network models, and distinctive application software. Since I primarily apply the Artificial Intelligence of Things (AIoT) methodology so as to develop my solutions, I always collate unique data while generating my datasets and elaborate my data collection techniques in addition to providing the results of my experiments.

As for my background, I was an aspiring physics major and enjoyed applied physics studies. In 2018, I decided to leave my university and pursue my vocation to be an independent researcher. Since I gained all of my skills in product, AI, and software development through self-education, including but not limited to writing comprehensive and concise tutorials in English, I improved the quality of my proof-of-concept projects gradually but effectively. After honing my skills and understanding of intertwined development procedures, such as PCB designing, 3D model designing, and machine learning & AI, I was confident enough to produce complex and innovative proof-of-concept projects worthy of an independent researcher.

Of course, I would not be able to pursue independent research and fulfill my AI-driven solution concepts for real-world problems without the unwavering and continuing support of pioneering tech companies, such as Edge Impulse, DFRobot, Particle, Seeed Studio, PCBWay, and Elecrow. Thanks to their assistance and sponsorships, I was able to utilize state-of-the-art infrastructures, services, and sensors to devise innovative proof-of-concept projects and accomplish my authentic and intricate builds as a full-time occupation.

I also got tremendous help and kindness from renowned maker communities, especially Hackster, while publicizing my independent research projects, accumulating an audience, and participating in worldwide contests to highlight my unique projects and solutions.

For cooperation suggestions, marketing inquiries, or project-related questions, you can reach me at:

contact@kutluhanaktar.com

Developing My Portfolio Website

As an advocate for self-education, I am not fond of utilizing templates or duplicating existing components while developing my software programs. Thus, I decided to approach my portfolio website as one of my research projects in order to improve my web development skills and grasp the latest features of programming languages I rarely employ, i.e., CSS. It took a lot of time and effort, but I managed to program every component of this website from scratch, including animations, transitions, and the project-oriented mini-games for each landing page. Instead of employing frameworks or built-in services, I decided to develop my portfolio website in plain HTML, CSS, JavaScript (with jQuery), and PHP. In this regard, I programmed every landing page mini-game with JavaScript and HTML Canvas.

In addition to building all web components from scratch, I wanted to utilize unique visual assets for my portfolio website. Since I was already familiar with employing generative AI to design visual assets for software and digital twin applications while building my AI-powered projects and solutions, I decided to design all of my visual assets with the assistance of generative AI, from icons (logos) to game objects aside from my original project images.

Connection issues regarding China

My close friends and business partners from China informed me that my portfolio website cannot be opened in some regions. Even if the home page could load successfully, it would take too much time to navigate my website and display content due to very slow loading times. After I thoroughly investigated this issue, I found out that most Google APIs and CDNs are blocked or time-locked in China, including but not limited to the jQuery CDN and the Google Fonts API.

Thus, to provide a better user experience, I decided to create a version of my portfolio website that is not dependent on any third-party server — hosting everything locally. Although it is not wise to develop a website without CDNs due to their performance advantages, my fully local website version should help to avoid any time locks or content blockages if the mentioned services are prohibited.

You can visit the fully local version here ⬇️

Experience

• Edge Impulse
• Contributor / Expert Network
• Contract
• March 2022 - Present
• 3 years 1 month 9 days
• Utilizing and showcasing the latest machine learning & AI algorithms and infrastructures provided by Edge Impulse in my proof-of-concept projects and solutions.
Edge Computing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Project Engineering Data Collection & Analysis Edge AI

• Particle
• Contributor / Creator Program
• Contract
• April 2024 - Present
• 1 year 11 days
• Utilizing and showcasing the latest IoT services and development boards provided by Particle in my proof-of-concept projects and solutions.
Internet of Things (IoT) User Interface Design Web Application Development Software Development Embedded Programming

• Hackster
• PRO Contributor / Content Creator
• Remote
• July 2017 - Present
• 7 years 8 months 30 days
• Publicizing my proof-of-concept projects through the Hackster community and participating in special events and contests held by industry leaders.
Programming Content Creation Project Management Project Planning Electronics

• Independent Researcher
• Developer / Maker
• Self-employed
• March 2017 - Present
• 8 years 1 month 18 days
• I am an independent researcher focusing on demonstrating the ideas and solutions I conceptualized regarding various domains and disciplines, from industrial operations to agriculture.
Research and Development (R&D) Printed Circuit Board (PCB) Design 3D Printing Project Engineering Industrial Design Product Development Software Development