Dr Thilina Dulantha Lalitharatne

Lecturer in Robotics and Mechatronics

School of Engineering and Materials Science
Queen Mary University of London

t.lalitharatne@qmul.ac.uk

www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/t.dulanthalalitharatne/

Centre for Bioengineering
Centre for Advanced Robotics

Research
Publications

Research

Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), Social Robotics, Medical Robotics, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI), Soft Robotics, Bio-Inspired Robotics

Interests

My research interests lie at the intersection of mutlimodal human-robot interaction (HRI), social and medical robotics, brain-computer Interfaces (BCI) and soft robotics. One of the long-term goals of my research is to address the social interactions problem (one of the ten grand challenges in robotics) in robots and to develop robots which can co-exist with humans while maintaining long term interactions. I am also interested in utilizing BCIs to enhance the interactions between humans and robots, including controlling robots using BCIs. Additionally, my research will explore soft and bio-inspired robotic approaches to create smarter and safer robots capable of coexisting with humans.

Publications

2024

Advancements in Textile-Based sEMG Sensors for Muscle Fatigue Detection: A Journey from Material Evolution to Technological Integration
Medagedara MH, Ranasinghe A, Lalitharatne TD, Gopura RARC and Nandasiri GK
Acs Sensors, American Chemical Society (Acs) vol. 9 (9), 4380-4401.

DOI 10.1021/acssensors.4c00604

06-09-2024

Field-Tested Drone Spraying System for Precision Agricultural Applications in Sri Lanka: A Case Study in Paddy Fields
Kodagoda G, Perera GASU, Lakshitha MGD, Senadhilankara KDP, Kularathna AHTS and Lalitharatne TD
2024 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon). vol. 00, 706-711.

DOI 10.1109/mercon63886.2024.10688794

10-08-2024

Corrigendum to “Developments in circular external fixators: A review” [Injury, Volume 54 Issue 12 (2023), 111157]
Widanage KND, De Silva MJ, Lalitharatne TD, Bull AMJ and Gopura RARC
Injury, Elsevier vol. 55 (3)

DOI 10.1016/j.injury.2024.111365

23-01-2024

2023

Developments in circular external fixators: A review
Widanage KND, De Silva MJ, Lalitharatne TD, Bull AMJ and Gopura RARC
Injury, Elsevier vol. 54 (12)

DOI 10.1016/j.injury.2023.111157

26-10-2023

Vocal pain expression augmentation for a robopatient
Protpagorn N, Lalitharatne TD, Costi L and Iida F
Frontiers in Robotics and Ai, Frontiers vol. 10

DOI 10.3389/frobt.2023.1122914

13-09-2023

Editorial: EMG/EEG signals-based control of assistive and rehabilitation robots, volume II
Gopura RARC, Lalitharatne TD and Zhang D
Frontiers in Neurorobotics, Frontiers vol. 17

DOI 10.3389/fnbot.2023.1259773

31-08-2023

An EMG-based Spatio-spectro-temporal Index for Muscle Fatigue Quantification
Dasanayake NP, Gopura RARC, Ranaweera RKPS and Lalitharatne TD
2023 32nd IEEE International Conference on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN). vol. 00, 263-268.

DOI 10.1109/ro-man57019.2023.10309545

31-08-2023

DeforMoBot: A Bio-Inspired Deformable Mobile Robot for Navigation Among Obstacles
Mulvey BW, Lalitharatne TD and Nanayakkara T
Ieee Robotics and Automation Letters, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 8 (6), 3827-3834.

DOI 10.1109/lra.2023.3273393

05-05-2023

Robotic Simulators for Tissue Examination Training With Multimodal Sensory Feedback
He L, Maiolino P, Leong F, Lalitharatne TD, de Lusignan S, Ghajari M, Iida F and Nanayakkara T
Ieee Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 16, 514-529.

DOI 10.1109/rbme.2022.3168422

01-01-2023

2022

Vocal Pain Expression Augmentation to Improve Interaction Accuracy in Virtual Robopatient
Protpagorn N, Costi L, Lalitharatne TD, Nisky I and Iida F
2022 9th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob). vol. 00, 1-7.

DOI 10.1109/biorob52689.2022.9925382

24-08-2022

Soft Control Interface for Highly Dexterous Unilateral Remote Palpation
Costi L, Lalitharatne TD and Iida F
2022 9th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics (BioRob). vol. 00, 1-8.

DOI 10.1109/biorob52689.2022.9925318

24-08-2022

Face mediated human–robot interaction for remote medical examination
Lalitharatne TD, Costi L, Hashem R, Nisky I, Jack RE, Nanayakkara T and Iida F
Scientific Reports, Springer Nature vol. 12 (1)

DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-16643-z

22-07-2022

Simulating dynamic facial expressions of pain from visuo-haptic interactions with a robotic patient
Tan Y, Rérolle S, Lalitharatne TD, van Zalk N, Jack RE and Nanayakkara T
Scientific Reports, Springer Nature vol. 12 (1)

DOI 10.1038/s41598-022-08115-1

10-03-2022

Origami Inspired Design for Capsule Endoscope to Retrograde Using Intestinal Peristalsis
Ge Y, Lalitharatne TD and Nanayakkara T
Ieee Robotics and Automation Letters, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 7 (2), 5429-5435.

DOI 10.1109/lra.2022.3157406

08-03-2022

2021

A thin-walled vacuum actuator (ThinVAc) and the development of multi-filament actuators for soft robotic applications
Kulasekera AL, Arumathanthri RB, Chathuranga DS, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
Sensors and Actuators a Physical, Elsevier vol. 332

DOI 10.1016/j.sna.2021.113088

01-12-2021

In situ 4D tomography image analysis framework to follow sintering within 3D‐printed glass scaffolds
Kondarage AI, Poologasundarampillai G, Nommeots‐Nomm A, Lee PD, Lalitharatne TD, Nanayakkara ND, Jones JR and Karunaratne A
Journal of The American Ceramic Society, Wiley vol. 105 (3), 1671-1684.

DOI 10.1111/jace.18182

03-11-2021

Decoding of Hand Gestures from Electrocorticography with LSTM Based Deep Neural Network
Pradeepkumar J, Anandakumar M, Kugathasan V, Lalitharatne TD, De Silva AC and Kappel SL
2021 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC). vol. 00, 420-423.

DOI 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9630958

01-11-2021

Detection and Tracking Volumes of Interest in 3D Printed Tissue Engineering Scaffolds using 4D Imaging Modalities
Kondarage AI, Gayani B, Poologasundarampillai G, Nommeots-Nomm A, Lee PD, Lalitharatne TD, Nanayakkara ND, Jones JR and Karunaratne A
2021 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society (EMBC). vol. 00, 1230-1233.

DOI 10.1109/embc46164.2021.9630587

01-11-2021

Comparative Analysis of Model-Based Predictive Shared Control for Delayed Operation in Object Reaching and Recognition Tasks With Tactile Sensing
Costi L, Scimeca L, Maiolino P, Lalitharatne TD, Nanayakkara T, Hashem R and Iida F
Frontiers in Robotics and Ai, Frontiers vol. 8

DOI 10.3389/frobt.2021.730946

27-09-2021

Portable Acquisition of Auditory ERPs: A Pilot Study of Premature Infants
Phillips JP, Pirrung CJ, Weerasinghe I, Kanishka GK, Satharasinghe Y, Lalitharatne TD, Cavanagh JF, Kodituwakku P and Wanigasinghe J
Pediatric Neurology, Elsevier vol. 122, 84-88.

DOI 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2021.05.016

12-06-2021

A Haptic Mouse Design with Stiffening Muscle Layer for Simulating Guarding in Abdominal Palpation Training
He L, Leong F, Lalitharatne TD, de Lusignan S and Nanayakkara T
2021 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA). vol. 00, 12588-12594.

DOI 10.1109/icra48506.2021.9561959

05-06-2021

MorphFace: A Hybrid Morphable Face for a Robopatient
Lalitharatne TD, Tan Y, He L, Leong F, Van Zalk N, de Lusignan S, Iida F and Nanayakkara T
Ieee Robotics and Automation Letters, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 6 (2), 643-650.

DOI 10.1109/lra.2020.3048670

01-01-2021

A Low-Profile Vacuum Actuator (LPVAc) With Integrated Inductive Displacement Sensing for a Novel Sit-to-Stand Assist Exosuit
Kulasekera AL, Arumathanthri RB, Chathuranga DS, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
Ieee Access, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 9, 117067-117079.

DOI 10.1109/access.2021.3106319

01-01-2021

2020

Low-cost Active Dry-Contact Surface EMG Sensor for Bionic Arms
Naim AM, Wickramasinghe K, De Silva A, Perera MV, Lalitharatne TD and Kappel SL
2020 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC). vol. 00, 3327-3332.

DOI 10.1109/smc42975.2020.9283285

14-10-2020

Motion Planning of Novel Stair-Climbing Wheelchair for Elderly and Disabled People
Thamel SR, Munasinghe R and Lalitharatne T
2020 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon). vol. 00, 590-595.

DOI 10.1109/mercon50084.2020.9185273

30-07-2020

A Low-Profile Vacuum Actuator: Towards a Sit-to-Stand Assist Exosuit
Kulasekera AL, Arumathanthri RB, Chathuranga DS, Lalitharatne TD and Gopura RC
2020 3rd IEEE International Conference on Soft Robotics (RoboSoft). vol. 00, 110-115.

DOI 10.1109/robosoft48309.2020.9115999

15-07-2020

Real-Time Hand Gesture Recognition Using Temporal Muscle Activation Maps of Multi-Channel Semg Signals
De Silva A, Perera MV, Wickramasinghe K, Naim AM, Lalitharatne TD and Kappel SL
ICASSP 2020 - 2020 IEEE International Conference on Acoustics, Speech and Signal Processing (ICASSP). vol. 00, 1299-1303.

DOI 10.1109/icassp40776.2020.9054227

08-05-2020

Facial Expression Rendering in Medical Training Simulators: Current Status and Future Directions
Lalitharatne TD, Tan Y, Leong F, He L, Van Zalk N, De Lusignan S, Iida F and Nanayakkara T
Ieee Access, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (Ieee) vol. 8, 215874-215891.

DOI 10.1109/access.2020.3041173

01-01-2020

2019

Motor Imagery EEG-EOG Signals based Brain Machine Interface (BMI) for a Mobile Robotic Assistant (MRA)
Mallikarachchi S, Chinthaka D, Sandaruwan J, Ruhunage I and Lalitharatne TD
2019 IEEE 19th International Conference on Bioinformatics and Bioengineering (BIBE). vol. 00, 812-816.

DOI 10.1109/bibe.2019.00151

30-10-2019

Vision-based Leader-Follower Mobile Robots for Cooperative Object Handling
Jayarathne DU, Vidumal HAKR, Senevirathne SMA, Jayasekara PG and Lalitharatne TD
2019 19th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS). vol. 00, 747-752.

DOI 10.23919/iccas47443.2019.8971660

15-10-2019

Development of a Robotic Manipulator to be used in Multirotor Aerial Vehicle
Wijayathunga N, Lalitharatne TD, Chathuranga DS and Jayasekara B
2019 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon). vol. 00, 638-643.

DOI 10.1109/mercon.2019.8818887

05-07-2019

Development of Wearable Fingertip Tactile Display Driven by Bowden Cables
Premarathna C, Kulasekera A, Chathuranga D and Lalitharatne T
2019 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon). vol. 00, 621-626.

DOI 10.1109/mercon.2019.8818899

05-07-2019

A Novel Fabrication Method for Rapid Prototyping of Soft Structures with Embedded Pneumatic Channels
Premarathna C, Kulasekera A, Chathuranga D and Lalitharatne T
2019 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon). vol. 00, 430-435.

DOI 10.1109/mercon.2019.8818891

05-07-2019

Hybrid EEG-EMG Signals Based Approach for Control of Hand Motions of a Transhumeral Prosthesis
Ruhunage I, Mallikarachchi S, Chinthaka D, Sandaruwan J and Lalitharatne TD
2019 IEEE 1st Global Conference on Life Sciences and Technologies (LifeTech). vol. 00, 50-53.

DOI 10.1109/lifetech.2019.8883865

12-03-2019

2018

Design and Characterization of a 1-axis Compact Torque Sensor for a Collaborative Robot Arm
Sandakalum T, Suraji S, Weerasekara I, Lalitharatne T and Chathuranga D
2018 IEEE International Conference on Information and Automation for Sustainability (ICIAfS). vol. 00, 1-6.

DOI 10.1109/iciafs.2018.8913373

21-12-2018

Haptic Feedback System for an Artificial Prosthetic Hand for Object Grasping and Slip Detection: A Preliminary Study
Premarathna CP, Ruhunage I, Chathuranga DS and Lalitharatne TD
2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO). vol. 00, 2304-2309.

DOI 10.1109/robio.2018.8665044

12-12-2018

EEG-SSVEP based Brain Machine Interface for Controlling of a Wheelchair and Home Appliances with Bluetooth Localization System
Ruhunage I, Perera CJ, Munasinghe I and Lalitharatne TD
2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO). vol. 00, 2520-2525.

DOI 10.1109/robio.2018.8664809

12-12-2018

A Soft Robotic Gripper with Sensory Feedback Fabricated by Latex using Coagulant Dipping Process
Arumathanthri RB, Abeygoonawardana BSK, Kumarasinghe IDCD, Chathuranga DS, Lalitharatne TD and Kulasekera AL
2018 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics (ROBIO). vol. 00, 2082-2087.

DOI 10.1109/robio.2018.8665091

12-12-2018

Scalable Autonomous Agronomical Smartbot
Athukorala A, Ranasinghe N, Herath K, Jayasekara P and Lalitharatne TD
2018 14th IEEE/ASME International Conference on Mechatronic and Embedded Systems and Applications (MESA). vol. 00, 1-6.

DOI 10.1109/mesa.2018.8449202

04-07-2018

An Underactuated Linkage Finger Mechanism for Hand Prostheses
H. MCMH, R. ARCG and Thilina DL
Modern Mechanical Engineering, Scientific Research Publishing vol. 08 (02), 121-139.

DOI 10.4236/mme.2018.82009

01-01-2018

2017

Prosthetic Hand with a Linkage Finger Mechanism for Power Grasping Applications
Herath HMCM, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
2017 IEEE Life Sciences Conference (LSC)., 304-307.

DOI 10.1109/lsc.2017.8268203

01-12-2017

Fabrication of a Soft Tactile Display Based on Pneumatic Balloon Actuators and Voice Coils: Evaluation of Force and Vibration Sensations
Premarathna CP, Chathuranga DS and Lalitharatne TD
2017 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)., 763-768.

DOI 10.1109/sii.2017.8279314

01-12-2017

EMG Signal Controlled Transhumeral Prosthetic with EEG-SSVEP Based Approch for Hand Open/Close
Ruhunage I, Perera CJ, Nisal K, Subodha J and Lalitharatne TD
2017 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC)., 3169-3174.

DOI 10.1109/smc.2017.8123115

01-10-2017

Design and Development of an Automated Battery Swapping and Charging Station for Multirotor Aerial Vehicles
Herath HMCWB, Herath HMS, Sumangala SW, de Silva O, Chathuranga D and Lalitharatne TD
2017 17th International Conference on Control, Automation and Systems (ICCAS)., 356-361.

DOI 10.23919/iccas.2017.8204465

01-10-2017

Design and Development of a Wearable Haptic Feedback Device to Recognize Textured Surfaces: Preliminary Study
Atapattu SH, Senevirathna NM, Shan HLU, Madusanka TBT, Lalitharatne TD and Chathuranga DS
2017 IEEE International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Mechatronics (AIM)., 16-21.

DOI 10.1109/aim.2017.8013988

01-07-2017

Design, Implementation and Performance Validation of UOMPro Artificial Hand: Towards Affordable Hand Prostheses**This research is partially supported by the University of Moratuwa final year project research grant scheme.
Nisal K, Ruhunge I, Subodha J, Perera CJ and Lalitharatne TD
2017 39th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). vol. 2017, 909-912.

DOI 10.1109/embc.2017.8036972

01-07-2017

EEG-Controlled Meal Assistance Robot with Camera-Based Automatic Mouth Position Tracking and Mouth Open Detection
Perera CJ, Lalitharatne TD and Kiguchi K
2017 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA)., 1760-1765.

DOI 10.1109/icra.2017.7989208

01-05-2017

Adaptive Foot in Lower‐Limb Prostheses
Weerakkody TH, Lalitharatne TD and Gopura RARC
Journal of Robotics, Hindawi vol. 2017 (1), 1-15.

DOI 10.1155/2017/9618375

01-01-2017

Development of an Active Shoulder Prosthesis with Low-Level Control Validation
Weerakkody TH, Lalitharatne TD, Gopura RARC, Liyanaarachchi N and Herath C
Modelling, Identification and Control.

DOI 10.2316/p.2017.848-058

01-01-2017

2016

SSVEP Based BMI for a Meal Assistance Robot
Perera CJ, Naotunna I, Sadaruwan C, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
2016 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (SMC)., 002295-002300.

DOI 10.1109/smc.2016.7844580

01-10-2016

Development of A Numerically Controlled Hot Wire Foam Cutting Machine for Wing Mould Construction
Abeysinghe A, Abeysiriwardena S, Nanayakkarawasam R, Wimalsiri W, Lalitharatne TD and Tennakoon S
2016 Moratuwa Engineering Research Conference (MERCon)., 60-65.

DOI 10.1109/mercon.2016.7480116

01-04-2016

Electrooculography Signal based Control of a Meal Assistance Robot
Perera CJ, Naotunna I, Sandaruwan C, Kelly-Boxall NJ, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
Biomedical Engineering.

DOI 10.2316/p.2016.832-064

01-01-2016

2015

Meal Assistance Robots: A Review on Current Status, Challenges and Future Directions
Naotunna I, Perera CJ, Sandaruwan C, Gopura RARC and Lalitharatne TD
2015 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)., 211-216.

DOI 10.1109/sii.2015.7404980

01-12-2015

2014

EEG-based evaluation for perception-assist in upper-limb power-assist exoskeletons
Lalitharatne TD, Teramoto K, Hayashi Y, Tamura K and Kiguchi K
2014 World Automation Congress (WAC)., 1-6.

DOI 10.1109/wac.2014.6935909

01-08-2014

Evaluation of Perception-Assist with an Upper-Limb Power-Assist Exoskeleton using EMG and EEG Signals
Lalitharatne TD, Teramoto K, Hayashi Y and Kiguchi K
Proceedings of the 11th IEEE International Conference on Networking, Sensing and Control., 524-529.

DOI 10.1109/icnsc.2014.6819681

01-04-2014

2013

Towards Hybrid EEG-EMG-Based Control Approaches to be Used in Bio-robotics Applications: Current Status, Challenges and Future Directions
Lalitharatne TD, Teramoto K, Hayashi Y and Kiguchi K
Paladyn Journal of Behavioral Robotics, De Gruyter vol. 4 (2), 147-154.

DOI 10.2478/pjbr-2013-0009

01-12-2013

Estimation of Forearm Supination/Pronation Motion Based on EEG Signals to Control an Artificial Arm
KIGUCHI K, LALITHARATNE TD and HAYASHI Y
Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design Systems and Manufacturing, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers vol. 7 (1)

DOI 10.1299/jamdsm.7.74

01-01-2013

Evaluation of Fuzzy-Neuro Modifiers for Compensation of the Effects of Muscle Fatigue on EMG-Based Control to be Used in Upper-Limb Power-Assist Exoskeletons
LALITHARATNE TD, TERAMOTO K, HAYASHI Y, NANAYAKKARA T and KIGUCHI K
Journal of Advanced Mechanical Design Systems and Manufacturing, Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers vol. 7 (4)

DOI 10.1299/jamdsm.7.736

01-01-2013

Compensation of the Effects of Muscle Fatigue on EMG-Based Control using Fuzzy Rules Based Scheme*The part of this work was supported by Japan Society of Promotion of Science (JSPS) Grant-in-Aid for Science Research (C) 23560293.
Lalitharatne TD, Hayashi Y, Teramoto K and Kiguchi K
2013 35th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC). vol. 2013, 6949-6952.

DOI 10.1109/embc.2013.6611156

01-01-2013

2012

Control Methodologies for Upper Limb Exoskeleton Robots
Gunasekara JMP, Gopura RARC, Jayawardane TSS and Lalitharathne SWHMTD
2012 IEEE/SICE International Symposium on System Integration (SII)., 19-24.

DOI 10.1109/sii.2012.6427387

01-12-2012

A Study on Effects of Muscle Fatigue on EMG-Based Control for Human Upper-Limb Power-Assist
Lalitharatne TD, Hayashi Y, Teramoto K and Kiguchi K
2012 IEEE 6th International Conference on Information and Automation for Sustainability., 124-128.

DOI 10.1109/iciafs.2012.6419892

01-09-2012

Toward EEG Control of Upper Limb Power-Assist Exoskeletons: A Preliminary Study of Decoding Elbow Joint Velocities Using EEG Signals
Lalitharatne TD, Yoshino A, Hayashi Y, Teramoto K and Kiguchi K
2012 International Symposium on Micro-NanoMechatronics and Human Science (MHS)., 421-424.

DOI 10.1109/mhs.2012.6492482

01-04-2012