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Hi I am

Rukshani Somarathna



Welcome to my personal place!


I am a researcher at Data61, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Canberra, Australia. I completed my PhD at the School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia.


As a researcher and engineer, I am passionate about exploring new frontiers, particularly in Artificial Intelligence (AI), AI for Science, Human-Centered Computing, Affective Computing, Immersive Technologies, and Signal Processing.

Contact

Education

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Computer Science and Engineering, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

Human-Centred Computing (HCC) Group, School of Computer Science and Engineering

Feb 2020 - Oct 2023

Supervisors: Associate Prof. Gelareh Mohammadi, Associate Prof. Tomasz Bednarz and Prof. Aaron Quigley

Thesis: Exploring Emotions and Engagement: A Multi-componential Analysis Using Films and Virtual Reality


Highlights:

Honours Degree of Bachelor of Science in Information Technology, University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka

Faculty of Information Technology

May 2013 - Jun 2017


Highlights:

  • Academic: Overall GPA of 3.89/4.2 (First Class)
  • Activities and Societies: Member of INTECS, Fit2School, and IEEE Student Branch University of Moratuwa

Secondary Education, Sri Lanka

Holy Family Convent, Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Jan 2003 - Aug 2011


Highlights:

  • Academic: Granted full tuition scholarship for admission to the University of Moratuwa
  • Activities and Societies: Member of Red Cross Society, Science Society, Mathematics Society, Nature Team, Media Unit, and English Club

Professional Experiences

CERC Postdoctoral and Engineering Fellow, CSIRO Data61, Australia

Immersive Environments Lab, Imaging and Computer Vision (ICV) Research Group

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Data61

Apr 2024 - Present


Responsibilities:

  • Produce research publications and contribute to conferences, seminar papers and publications
  • Develop software solutions to support and advance projects
  • Manage version control processes, ensuring code integrity, tracking changes, and facilitating collaboration through Bitbucket
  • Attend at meetings associated with the organisational unit
  • Adhere to Scrum methodologies in software development
  • Utilize project management tools such as Jira and Confluence to manage team tasks and track project progress

Postdoctoral Writing Fellow (Level A), University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

Human-Centred Computing (HCC) Group, School of Computer Science and Engineering

Oct 2023 - Dec 2023


Highlights:

  • Academic: 2 publications in top-tier conferences

Responsibilities:

  • Produce research publications and contribute to conferences, seminar papers and publications
  • Develop software solutions to support and advance research projects
  • Attend at meetings associated with research or the work of the organisational unit
  • Collaborate with a wide range of internal and external academic stakeholders, including faculty, staff, and students
  • Supervise undergraduate students

Research Assistant, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia

School of Clinical Medicine

Nov 2021 - Jun 2023


Responsibilities:

  • Assist in designing and executing experiments, including data collection using Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT)
  • Develop and maintained software tools to support research activities
  • Prepare reports, and research papers for publication
  • Managed scheduling and coordination of meetings, events, and appointments
  • Handled correspondence, including emails, calls, and official communications
  • Processed paperwork, including forms, reports, and documentation for various projects

Software Engineer, Sri Lanka

Cambio Software Engineering

Jul 2017 - Jan 2020


Responsibilities:

  • Full stack software development using Java, Spring, Hibernate, MSSQL, TestNG, Junit, YAML, Angular, RESTful Web services, Docker, Sonar, MSSQL Profiling tools, Cambio CUTs, JIRA, Swagger
  • Manage version control processes, ensuring code integrity, tracking changes, and facilitating collaboration through Bitbucket, SVN and Git
  • Manage and coordinate software release processes, ensuring smooth deployment and delivery of new features and updates
  • Attend at meetings associated with the organisational unit
  • Adhere to Scrum methodologies in software development
  • Experience in teamwork and collaboration across teams in Sri Lanka and Sweden

Software Engineering Intern, Sri Lanka

Virtusa

Feb 2016 - Aug 2016


Responsibilities:

  • Full stack software development using IBM Watson services, Python, NLTK, Java, JavaFX, Node.js, Swagger, AngularJS, MongoDB, WSO2 CEP, iOS
  • Manage version control processes, ensuring code integrity, tracking changes, and facilitating collaboration through Bitbucket
  • Attend at meetings associated with the organisational unit
  • Adhere to Scrum methodologies in software development
  • Utilize project management tools such as Jira and Confluence to manage team tasks and track project progress

Professional Services and Certificates

Committee Membership

Academic Supervision

Mentorship

Research Paper Reviewer

Student Volunteering

Project Demonstrator

Talks and Presentations

  • Presenter: UNSW Human-Centred Computing (HCC) Group Seminar, 2023
  • Presenter: UNSW CSE HDR Seminar, 2022
  • Keynote Speaker: UNSW GERRIC AI Workshop, 2022

Conference Participation

Professional Memberships

  • Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
  • Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
  • Special Interest Group on Computer-Human Interaction (SIGCHI)
  • Australian Computer Society (ACS)
  • IEEE Computer Society
  • IEEE Women in Engineering
  • IEEE Young Professionals
  • IEEE Student Chapter, University of Moratuwa
  • IEEE Student Chapter, UNSW

Certificates and Courses

  • IELTS, IELTS Official, 2024
  • Professional Scrum Master I, Scrum.org, 2024
  • Introduction to Data Science, LinkedIn, 2020
  • NLP with Python for Machine Learning Essential Training, LinkedIn, 2020
  • IELTS, IELTS Official, 2019
  • IEEEXtreme Programming Competition 10.0, IEEE, 2016
  • Foundation Level, Institute of Certified Management Accountants of Sri Lanka (CMA), 2016
  • IEEEXtreme Programming Competition 9.0, IEEE, 2015
  • Android Fundamentals, Udacity, 2015

Publications

2024

  • R. Somarathna, and G. Mohammadi, “Towards Understanding Player Experience in Virtual Reality Games through Physiological Computing,” 2024 IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications Workshops and other Affiliated Events (PerCom Workshops), 2024, [A*]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, and G. Mohammadi, “Exploring Emotions in Multi-componential Space using Interactive VR Games,” (Under review at a Q1 journal). [pdf]
  • E. Morgenroth*, R. Somarathna* , D. Van De Ville, G. Mohammadi, and P. Vuilleumier, “Emotion is a multi-componential experience guided by appraisal: evidence from multi-level annotation during naturalistic stimulation,” (Under review at a Q1 journal, *Equal contribution first author). [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, X. Li, M. Bamdad and G. Mohammadi, “EmoFoot: Can Your Foot Tell How You Feel when Playing Virtual Reality Games?,” 26th International Conference on Mobile Human-Computer Interaction (MOBILEHCI Adjunct ’24), Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 2024, [B]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, “Exploring Emotions and Engagement: A Multi-componential Analysis Using Films and Virtual Reality.” Diss. UNSW Sydney, 2024. [pdf]

2023

  • R. Somarathna, P. Vuilleumier, and G. Mohammadi, “EmoStim: A Database of Emotional Film Clips with Discrete and Componential Assessment,” IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 2023. [Q1]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, Elvitigala, D. S., Y. Yan, A. Quigley and, G. Mohammadi “Exploring User Engagement in Immersive Virtual Reality Games through Multimodal Body Movements,” 29th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, New Zealand, 2023. [A]. [pdf]

2022

  • R. Somarathna, A. Quigley, and G. Mohammadi, “Multi-componential Emotion Recognition in VR Using Physiological Signals,” In Australasian Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Springer, 2022. [National]. [pdf]
  • Elvitigala, D. S., R. Somarathna Y. Yan, G. Mohammadi and A. Quigley, “Towards using Involuntary Body Gestures for Measuring the User Engagement in VR Gaming,”. The Adjunct Publication of the 35th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, 2022. [A*]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, T. Bednarz, and G. Mohammadi, “Virtual Reality for Emotion Elicitation - A Review,” IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, pp. 1-21, 2022. [Q1]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, T. Bednarz and G. Mohammadi, “An Exploratory Analysis of Interactive VR-Based Framework for Multi-Componential Analysis of Emotion,” 2022 IEEE International Conference on Pervasive Computing and Communications Workshops and other Affiliated Events (PerCom Workshops), 2022, pp. 353-358. [A*]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, P. Vuilleumier, T. Bednarz, and G. Mohammadi, “A Machine Learning Model for Analyzing the Multivariate Patterns of Emotions in Multi-Componential Framework with Personalization,” Available at SSRN 4075454, 2022. [pdf]

2021

  • R. Somarathna, T. Bednarz, and G. Mohammadi. “Multi-Componential Analysis of Emotions Using Virtual Reality,” 27th ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology, Japan, 2021. [A]. [pdf]

2020

  • R. Somarathna, “A Multi-Component Approach to Emotion Recognition”. Accepted for the Doctoral Consortium of the 32nd Australian Conference on Human-Computer Interaction (OzCHI 2020). [National]. [pdf]
  • R. Somarathna, “Path Planning and Obstacle Avoidance Scheme for Autonomous Robots using Raspberry Pi,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.10863, 2020. [pdf]

Honours and Awards

  • Shortlisted Finalist: Asian Deans' Forum, The Rising Stars, 2024
  • IEEE TCPP Student Travel Grant: PerCom24, 2024
  • Graduate Research School Development and Research Training Grant (DRTG): UNSW, 2022
  • Symposium Selectee: Google Research India: Graduate Symposium, 2021
  • Summer School Selectee: TILES S3B2-ML: Summer School on Sensor-Based Behavioral Machine Learning, 2020
  • UNSW Tuition Fee Scholarship: UNSW, 2020
  • UNSW Research Stipend Scholarship: UNSW, 2020
  • Top Ten: Android Study Jams Hackathon, Google Developers Group, 2015
  • Dean’s Award: Faculty of Information Technology, University of Moratuwa, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016

Projects

Discover my projects, and datasets

EmoCompVR Dataset

Emotions profoundly impact our decisions and interactions. To address gaps in current datasets—such as inadequate focus, limited coverage, and missing physiological signals—we introduce EmoCompVR, a new emotional dataset based on the Componential model using Virtual Reality (VR). By utilizing 27 VR games, we have elicited a wide range of emotions and collected extensive data through self-reports and objective annotations, enhancing the richness and validity of emotional research.


Thesis Incoming dataset :)

EmoStim Dataset

Emotion elicitation using film clips is a common and ecologically valid method in Affective Computing. We present EmoStim, a dataset of emotional film clips designed for researchers studying emotions through discrete or componential models. The dataset includes 99 clips, selected from 139 based on subjective ratings from 638 participants via CrowdFlower, effectively distinguishing between emotions in the discrete model.


Paper Annotated Dataset Film Dataset

Emo-FilM Dataset

This study discerns the relationship between discrete emotions and their underlying components from a detailed dataset of continuous annotations of more than 50 emotion variables during short films.


Paper Source code

Cambio Cosmic

A comprehensive healthcare system that supports patient and medical record administration of medical units.


Technologies: Java, Spring, Hibernate, MSSQL, TestNG, Junit, YAML, Angular, RESTful Web services, Git, Docker, SVN, Sonar, Bitbucket, MSSQL Profiling tools, Cambio CUTs, JIRA, Swagger


Project

Finding the “Person of Interest”

A system to identify the current location of a lost person by self-organizing agents which will navigate in the assigned area and communicate with each other and find the given person of interest using the image processing technology..


Technologies: OpenCV, C++, Python, Raspberry Pi, Java, Apache ActiveMQ


Paper

The Ultimate Sense (TUS)

A chatbot application with cognitive capabilities, integrated into an iOS application as a personal assistant.


Technologies: IBM Watson services, Python, NLTK, Java, JavaFX, Node.js, Swagger, AngularJS, MongoDB, WSO2 CEP, iOS

Fast Flower Delivery System

A system to deliver the products to customers analyzing the past and real-time performance details of drivers using the Complex Event Processor (CEP) of WSO2.


Technologies: Android, Siddhi Language of CEP, JSP, HTML, CSS, AJAX, MySQL, Google Maps API, Java, Web Socket

Dashboard for showing real-time data from a vehicle

A mobile application develop to provide real-time details and recommendations to users, analyzing the information retrieves from the Bluetooth devices in vehicles during the internship at Virtusa.


Technologies: Android, Node.js, Swagger

Handwritten character recognition system

A project develop to automate the data extraction of documents by the recognition of handwritten characters during the internship at Virtusa.


Technologies: MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, Node.js, HTML, CSS

Enterprise Resource Planning system

An Enterprise Resource Planning system having Human resource management, finance, sales and production modules developed according to the MVC architecture.


Technologies: MongoDB, Express, AngularJS, Node.js, HTML, CSS

Ceylon Journey

An Android application that has a collection of tourist places in Sri Lanka with a detailed description and pictures. This application has the ability of forecasting weather conditions of those places for next seven days.


Technologies: Android SDK, Openweathermap API, Parse cloud app platform

Inventory Management System

Inventory management system developed for a Book shop.


Technologies: Java, Java FX GUIs, Jasper Reporting, MySql, JavaFX scene builder 2.0

Countdown

This is an Android application developed for Android Study Jams conducted by GDG Sri Lanka. The application gives details of the user's current location, and it can be used as an alerting device that reminds about the set destination before reaching. Was able to come to the Top Ten of the Android Study Jams competition.


Technologies: Android SDK, Google Direction API, GPS technology,Web service

M-Cooker – The Automated Cooking Machine

An automated cooking machine that can cook a meal by giving the command manually and remotely using a mobile.


Technologies: PIC Microcontrollers, Motor controlling technology, DTMF, LCD display


Report