Suranga Nanayakkara Explained

Birth Place:	Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Workplaces:	University of Auckland
Alma Mater:	National University of Singapore(B.Eng.) National University of Singapore(PhD) MIT Media Lab(Postdoc) Royal College, Colombo(Secondary)
Doctoral Advisor:	Lonce Wyse, Elizabeth Taylor and SH Ong
Academic Advisors:	Pattie Maes
Known For:	Inventor of FingerReader, SPARSH, StickEar and HapticChair

Suranga Nanayakkara (born 1981) is a Sri Lankan born computer scientist and inventor.^[1], 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 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.
• Finalist, Singapore Challenge, Global Young Scientist Summit (GYSS’14).^[19]
• Interactive installation, iSwarm, selected for i Light Singapore 2014 Light show^[20]

External links

• • Documentary about Suranga in a Global Vision TV, Japan
• Suranga Nanayakkara's work on Yahoo News
• Creating the next generation of innovators
• Suranga Nanayakkara at TR35 Singapore

Notes and References

1. Web site: Creating the next generation of innovators. Sundaytimes. 2014-09-07.
2. Web site: Camera-Equipped "EyeRing" Helps Visually Impaired Identify Objects=. Ecouterre . 2014-06-19.
3. Web site: EyeRing helps visually impaired point, press, and hear information. PHYS.ORG . 2014-06-19.
4. Web site: With the Camera-Equipped "EyeRing" You Can Point at an Object and Take a Photo . Inhabitat . 2014-06-19.
5. Web site: Camera-toting EyeRing could help blind people to "see" objects . Gizmag . 13 August 2012. 2014-06-19.
6. Web site: New technology to help the deaf enjoy music . National University of Singapore College of Engineering . official website . 2014-06-14.
7. Web site: MIT TR35 . MIT TR35 . 2014-06-19.
8. Web site: EmTech Singapore A . EMTech . 2014-06-19.
9. Web site: Against the Odds . Tech Wire . 22 February 2014. 2014-06-19.
10. Web site: Econnect . National University of Singapore . 2014-06-25.
11. Web site: Suranga Nanayakkara . Suranga Nanayakkara . 2017-05-03.
12. Web site: People, Fluid Interfaces Group . Fluid Interfaces . 2014-06-19.
13. Web site: about Suranga Nanayakkara . suranga.info . 2014-06-14.
14. Web site: Augmented Human Lab . ahlab.org . 2014-06-14 . https://web.archive.org/web/20150418082312/http://asg.sutd.edu.sg/people/suranga-nanayakkara . 2015-04-18 . dead .
15. Web site: Uni welcomes world leader in human-computer interaction . Scoop . 2021-09-05.
16. Web site: Wireless device lends a listening ear. Straits Times. 2014-06-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002122/http://asg.sutd.edu.sg/pdf/StickEar.pdf. 2016-03-04. dead.
17. Web site: Wireless device lends a listening ear . https://web.archive.org/web/20140310022549/http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/wireless-device-lends-listening-ear . dead . March 10, 2014 . AsiaOne. 2014-06-19.
18. Web site: Helping our hearing-impaired communities . https://web.archive.org/web/20140310022549/http://yourhealth.asiaone.com/content/wireless-device-lends-listening-ear . dead . March 10, 2014 . Helping hearing-impaired communities. 2014-06-19.
19. Web site: GYSS'14 . GYSS . 2014-06-14.
20. Web site: iSwarm - i Light 2014 . i Light 2014 . 2014-06-19.