Biography:Suranga Nanayakkara

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Short description: Sri-lankan computer scientist inventor (born 1981)
Suranga Nanayakkara
Suranga with EyeRing.jpeg
Nanayakkara working with EyeRing
Born1981 (age 42–43)
Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Alma materNational University of Singapore(B.Eng.)
National University of Singapore(PhD)
MIT Media Lab(Postdoc)
Royal College, Colombo(Secondary)
Known forInventor of FingerReader, SPARSH, StickEar and HapticChair
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity of Auckland
Doctoral advisorLonce Wyse, Elizabeth Taylor and SH Ong
Other academic advisorsPattie Maes
Websitewww.suranga.info

Suranga Nanayakkara (born 1981) is a Sri Lankan born computer scientist and inventor.[1] (As of 2021), he is the director of Augmented Human Lab and associate professor at the National University of Singapore. Before moving to Auckland in 2018, he was an assistant professor at Singapore University of Technology and Design. He is best known for his work on FingerReader[2][3][4][5] and Haptic Chair.[6] His research interests include Wearable Computing, Assistive Technology, Ubiquitous computing, AI, Collective intelligence and Robotics. MIT Technology Review honored Nanayakkara as one of the Innovators Under 35 for Asia Pacific Region 2014.[7][8]

Education and research

Suranga is from Piliyandala, in Colombo District, Sri Lanka. Having received his secondary education from Royal College, Colombo,[9][10][11] he completed bachelor's degree in electrical and computer engineering from the National University of Singapore in Singapore. He holds a PhD in Engineering from National University of Singapore. Suranga spent half a year at University of Birmingham and half a year at University of Southern California under student exchange program. Later he was a postdoctoral researcher with Pattie Maes's Fluid Interfaces Group at MIT Media Lab.[12][13]

Career

  • Since 2011, he has been directing the Augmented Human Lab.[14]
  • In 2018, he was invited to join University of Auckland as the first appointee of New Zealand Government's strategic entrepreneurial universities scheme [15]
  • He joined Singapore University of Technology and Design as an Assistant Professor in 2011

Inventions

Suranga is best known for his work EyeRing - A finger-worn interface for seamless interactions[2][3][4] [5] Haptic Chair - Audio visual system to provide a more satisfying musical experience to deaf people[6] and StickEars – a sound-based sticky note like device to make everyday objects more accessible.[16][17][18] Among some of his other work, Suranga has invented SPARSH – a way to copy-paste data between digital devices; FingerDraw - way to extract colours and textures from nature and bring them into digital drawings.

Awards and achievements

  • INK Fellow, 2016, by INK
  • Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP), Sri Lanka award 2015, by JCI Sri Lanka
  • Young Innovator under 35 (MIT TR35) 2014 award, Asia Pacific region.[7]
  • Finalist, Singapore Challenge, Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS’14).[19]
  • Interactive installation, iSwarm, selected for i Light Singapore 2014 Light show[20]

References

  1. ↑ "Creating the next generation of innovators". Sundaytimes. http://www.sundaytimes.lk/140907/magazine/creating-the-next-generation-of-innovators-116479.html. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Camera-Equipped "EyeRing" Helps Visually Impaired Identify Objects=". Ecouterre. http://www.ecouterre.com/camera-equipped-eyering-helps-visually-impaired-identify-objects/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "EyeRing helps visually impaired point, press, and hear information". PHYS.ORG. http://phys.org/news/2012-08-eyering-visually-impaired.html. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "With the Camera-Equipped "EyeRing" You Can Point at an Object and Take a Photo". Inhabitat. http://inhabitat.com/with-the-camera-equipped-eyering-you-can-point-at-an-object-and-take-a-photo/. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Camera-toting EyeRing could help blind people to "see" objects". Gizmag. 13 August 2012. http://www.gizmag.com/eyering-object-recognition-aural-feedback-mit/23677/. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 "New technology to help the deaf enjoy music". official website. http://www.eng.nus.edu.sg/ero/news/index.php?id=566. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "MIT TR35". MIT TR35. http://www.emtechsingapore.com/2014/tr35-awards/finalists. 
  8. ↑ "EmTech Singapore A". EMTech. http://www.mynewsdesk.com/sg/pinpoint-pr/pressreleases/emtech-singapore-announces-10-regional-finalists-for-the-mit-technology-review-s-35-innovators-under-35-awards-tr35-937349. 
  9. ↑ "Against the Odds". Tech Wire. 22 February 2014. http://techwire.lk/against-the-odds-recollections-of-dr-suranga-nanayakkara/. 
  10. ↑ "Econnect". National University of Singapore. http://www.ece.nus.edu.sg/econnect/issue3.pdf. 
  11. ↑ "Suranga Nanayakkara". Suranga Nanayakkara. http://suranga.info/. 
  12. ↑ "People, Fluid Interfaces Group". Fluid Interfaces. http://fluid.media.mit.edu/people/suranga-nanayakkara. 
  13. ↑ "about Suranga Nanayakkara". suranga.info. http://www.suranga.info/. 
  14. ↑ "Augmented Human Lab". ahlab.org. http://asg.sutd.edu.sg/people/suranga-nanayakkara. 
  15. ↑ "Uni welcomes world leader in human-computer interaction". Scoop. https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/SC1709/S00032/uni-welcomes-world-leader-in-human-computer-interaction.htm. 
  16. ↑ "Wireless device lends a listening ear". Straits Times. http://asg.sutd.edu.sg/pdf/StickEar.pdf. 
  17. ↑ "Wireless device lends a listening ear". AsiaOne. http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/wireless-device-lends-listening-ear. 
  18. ↑ "Helping our hearing-impaired communities". Helping hearing-impaired communities. http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/wireless-device-lends-listening-ear. 
  19. ↑ "GYSS'14". GYSS. http://www.gyss-one-north.sg. 
  20. ↑ "iSwarm - i Light 2014". i Light 2014. http://www.ilightmarinabay.sg/installation/iswarm/. 

External links



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