Te c h n o S p h e r e
Volume 01 | Spring 2015
Cover Story
Emato Engineering | Partners, İbrahim Halil Karaca and Rahmi Şafak Arıcı
Ibrahim Halil Karaca is co-founder of Emato Engineering (www.ematoengineering.com), along with his partner and good
friend, Rahmi Safak Arici. Both students of Electrical Engineering at IZTECH, they were interested in applying their electronic
and communications background to the medical sciences engineering field. Emato Engineering is now working on several
major innovations in diagnosing and treating dental and jaw problems as well as collaborating with IZTECH for green campus projects to improve transportation using an electrically assisted bicycle. Emato Engineering launched in April 2014 after
receiving funding from the Ministry of Science and Technology Industry Techno-Initiative Capital Support Program and support from Teknopark Izmir.
What service(s) or product(s) do you offer/manufacture?
Our company is very new and we are working several R&D projects. One of the main
projects is the Micro-Orthodontist prototype, a diagnostic device used in telemedicine
to reduce the time a patient must wear braces. It improves communication between
the doctor and patient using a touch sensor and force protection. It allows doctors to
monitor patients’ usage of the equipment more accurately with a mobile application
and offers instant and private conversations directly via SMS. There are a wide range of
further applications across health and technology, especially using mobile applications
and we will continue to look for more uses.
We are also working with IZTECH as part of the Green Campus Project to design an
electrically assisted, three wheeled bicycle to provide quick and easy transportation on
campus.
What kind of strategies did you use to get funded?
As graduate students, we have the opportunity to work with several members of the community. The idea for our MicroOrthodontist device came from a local orthodontist with a problem that needed a solution. We worked together under advisement from our Electrical Engineering Professor advisor and our industry mentor to develop the prototype and recently
applied for a patent with the help of Atmosfer TTO, pending approval.
We applied for the Ministry of Science, Industry, and Technology program and received 100,000 TL to start our company.
After being accepted into the program, Teknopark Izmir provided us an office to set up operations. We used the money to
get the equipment to start building our prototype. We are now looking for ways to distribute our product.
What kind of habits helped make you successful?
Fortunately, we have several mentors who have been extremely helpful in providing ideas and guiding us through the business. Whenever we get stuck or unsure what step to
take next, we can reach out to our professors, businesses in the local community, and
even our friends who have been around to help us.
It is very difficult to learn how to manage a company, but we are very committed to finishing our prototype and this requires lots of work hours. We use Asana software to
track and assign project responsibilities. My partner and I are very different but we have
strengths that complement each other. I concentrate on the engineering and research
side of the business, while Rahmi Arici concentrates on the administration and management.
At the end of April 2015, our entrepreneurship program will end but we will continue to
build customer relationships and model ourselves after other successful people. We are
also going to work with Teknopark Izmir to mentor other entrepreneurs and help them
apply to the Government program.
TechnoSphere
(12)
“LEARN ABOUT THE NEEDS OF
THE INDUSTRY AND WHAT
EXISTING PROBLEMS REALLY
NEED SOLVING. IF YOUR
COMPANY CAN SUPPORT
MULTIPLE SECTORS WITH A
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY
APPROACH, THEN YOU WILL
HAVE A LARGER CUSTOMER
BASE.”
www.atmosfertto.com