{"id":1232,"date":"2021-08-16T08:45:54","date_gmt":"2021-08-16T08:45:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/?p=1232"},"modified":"2021-08-20T14:29:03","modified_gmt":"2021-08-20T14:29:03","slug":"dr-thrishantha-nanayakkara-reader-in-design-engineering-and-robotics-dyson-school-of-design-engineering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2021\/08\/16\/dr-thrishantha-nanayakkara-reader-in-design-engineering-and-robotics-dyson-school-of-design-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr Thrishantha Nanayakkara, Reader in Design Engineering and Robotics, Dyson School of Design Engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-1233\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/files\/2021\/08\/21-07-Imperial-People_Twitter_4-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/h3>\n<h3><span class=\"TextRun SCXW265030481 BCX0\" lang=\"EN-GB\" xml:lang=\"EN-GB\" data-contrast=\"none\"><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW265030481 BCX0\">\u201cWe use robotics to understand how animals solve survival problems in their natural environment<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW265030481 BCX0\">, like<\/span><span class=\"NormalTextRun SCXW265030481 BCX0\">\u00a0how mountain goats survive on steep cliffs.\u201d<\/span><\/span><span class=\"EOP SCXW265030481 BCX0\" data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;I am the director of the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/morph-lab\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Morph Lab<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">. We use robotics to understand how animals solve survival problems in their natural environment. For instance, we conduct experiments on soft robotic hoofs to understand how mountain goats survive on steep cliffs. We have discovered that the hoof works like a brain to convert slips against the cliff to vibrations that automatically create a braking action. This is\u00a0similar to\u00a0how an automobile\u2019s anti-lock braking system (ABS) works.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;Before the pandemic I enjoyed demonstrating <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">the Morph Lab\u2019s work to the public.\u00a0It is rewarding to hear people say that our work helped them to understand a complex issue.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;I began my studies in Sri Lanka before going to Japan and the US. When the civil war ended, <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">I returned home to Sri Lanka to set up a bio-inspired robotics lab to support landmine detection work. Before joining the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/design-engineering\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Dyson School of Design Engineering<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0at Imperial in 2017,\u00a0I also worked at Harvard, MIT and King\u2019s College London.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;When the pandemic began, <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">we wanted to re-purpose our work to help the NHS. We focused on minimising ventilator-induced lung injuries and hope to develop our ideas into a funded research project. We found new ways to do robotics research and where possible we replaced our physical experiments with augmented reality applications. I also collaborated with the\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imperial.ac.uk\/digital-learning-hub\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Digital Learning Hub<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0to allow students to project a robot onto a table so that they could interact with it to understand 3D kinematics mathematics.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">&#8220;I am really excited about our spin out company,\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/permiasensing.com\/\"><span data-contrast=\"none\">Permia Sensing Ltd,<\/span><\/a><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u00a0which uses an intelligent portable sensor to detect red palm weevil in coconut palm trees. This insect has been designated a global threat by the United Nations. We are already working in five countries and plan to expand rapidly.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:true,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:160,&quot;335559740&quot;:259}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">&#8220;I increased the time I spend on Vipassana Meditation during the pandemic which helped me to find peace and stability to get through the tough time. I also practised karate at home with some basic equipment to replace the dojo experience. The pandemic has reminded us of the value of fresh air, nature, exercise, friendships and healthy living.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cWe use robotics to understand how animals solve survival problems in their natural environment, like\u00a0how mountain goats survive on steep cliffs.\u201d\u00a0 &#8220;I am the director of the Morph Lab. We use robotics to understand how animals solve survival problems in their natural environment. For instance, we conduct experiments on soft robotic hoofs to understand how [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1554,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[314135],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-academic-staff"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Dr Thrishantha Nanayakkara, Reader in Design Engineering and Robotics, Dyson School of Design Engineering - Imperial people<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/imperial-people\/2021\/08\/16\/dr-thrishantha-nanayakkara-reader-in-design-engineering-and-robotics-dyson-school-of-design-engineering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dr Thrishantha Nanayakkara, Reader in Design Engineering and Robotics, Dyson School of Design Engineering - Imperial people\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cWe use robotics to understand how animals solve survival problems in their natural environment, like\u00a0how mountain goats survive on steep cliffs.\u201d\u00a0 &#8220;I am the director of the Morph Lab. 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