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  <title>About — Ertunç Özbay</title>
  <meta name="description" content="About Ertunç Özbay: Electrical and Electronics Engineering student at Bülent Ecevit University, exploring hardware, software, embedded systems, C, Rust, and reverse engineering.">
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          Ertunç Özbay
          <span class="brand-subtitle">embedded // hardware // open-source</span>
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        <span class="workshop-eyebrow">⚡ ABOUT // IDENTITY &amp; ENGINEERING APPROACH</span>
        <h1 id="about-heading"><span class="gradient-title">About Me &amp; This Engineering Studio</span></h1>
        <p class="hero-lead">
          I am an Electrical &amp; Electronics Engineering student at Bülent Ecevit University who builds hardware, writes low-level C and Rust software, and learns by going deeper than the first explanation.
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      <section class="section-block reading-width" aria-labelledby="story-heading">
        <span class="section-label">01 // Who I Am</span>
        <h2 id="story-heading">Learning by Building and Investigating</h2>
        <p>
          My interests span both hardware and software. I do not want to limit myself to only one layer of a system—I want to understand how physical components, electronics, firmware, and higher-level software work together.
        </p>
        <p>
          Right now, my active work centers on <strong>ESP32 / ESP32-S3 embedded systems in ESP-IDF (ISO C99 &amp; FreeRTOS)</strong>, circuit analysis, KiCad schematic capture, Python hardware tooling, and Rust systems programming on Arch Linux.
        </p>
        <p>
          I love open source, freedom, and making things that are useful, unusual, or simply fun. I use this website to document my progress, share real schematics and firmware, and connect with people who enjoy building and learning together.
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      <figure class="schematic-frame" aria-label="Hardware and software layers diagram">
        <img class="zoomable-img" src="assets/images/hardware-software-bridge.svg" alt="Diagram showing three connected layers: Layer 1 Circuits and Electronics, Layer 2 Embedded and Low-Level C Programming, and Layer 3 Tools and Human Judgment." width="760" height="220">
        <figcaption class="schematic-caption">
          Connecting physical circuits, low-level code, and high-level software tools rather than treating them as separate worlds.
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      <section class="section-block reading-width" aria-labelledby="philosophy-heading">
        <span class="section-label">02 // Hardware, Software &amp; AI Philosophy</span>
        <h2 id="philosophy-heading">Why I Want to Understand Both Sides of a System</h2>
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          <span class="callout-title">Core Principle</span>
          <p style="margin-bottom:0;">
            “I want to understand both hardware and software because I do not want to depend completely on tools or people who understand the parts I do not. My goal is to understand systems deeply enough to make decisions, guide AI effectively, recognize when something is wrong, and take responsibility for what I build.”
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        <h3>The Car Analogy</h3>
        <p>
          I often think about technology through a simple car analogy: if I want to drive a car responsibly, I should understand at least the basics of its steering, dynamics, brakes, and other important systems. If I understand how the car works and how to drive it, I can make good decisions, recognize problems early, teach someone else, and know what to ask for when something needs attention.
        </p>
        <p>
          I approach AI in the exact same way. I use AI tools when experimenting, but I do not want to use AI blindly—I want to understand the hardware registers, pin strapping rules, and software architecture deeply enough to evaluate output critically and take full responsibility for the final system.
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            <span class="section-label">03 // Technical Stack</span>
            <h2 id="interests-heading">Areas I Am Building &amp; Exploring</h2>
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              <span class="section-label">Embedded &amp; Electronics</span>
              <h3>Current Focus</h3>
              <ul>
                <li>ESP32 &amp; ESP32-S3 (ESP-IDF v5.2.2, FreeRTOS)</li>
                <li>ISO C99 firmware &amp; SPI/ADC/LEDC/PCNT peripherals</li>
                <li>2.4 GHz nRF24L01+ RF telemetry &amp; power decoupling</li>
                <li>KiCad schematic capture &amp; perfboard prototyping</li>
              </ul>
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          <div class="card card-synth">
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              <span class="section-label">Systems &amp; Tooling</span>
              <h3>Software &amp; Reverse Engineering</h3>
              <ul>
                <li>Rust &amp; C++ systems programming on Arch Linux</li>
                <li>Python RLE data compression &amp; hardware scripts</li>
                <li>Wine / DirectX 11 runtime internals &amp; TLS alignment</li>
                <li>Binary analysis (Ghidra, x64dbg, Cheat Engine)</li>
              </ul>
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              <span class="section-label">Roadmap</span>
              <h3>Next Milestones</h3>
              <ul>
                <li>DT-100 desktop console assembly for the MFC</li>
                <li>4WD RC &amp; Autonomous Vehicle closed-loop testing</li>
                <li>YouTube Proof-of-Concept videos for all 4 projects</li>
                <li>Custom PCB layout &amp; Assembly language deep-dives</li>
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