Lab Members
Dr. Thilina Lalitharatne
Lab Director / Principal Investigator
Thilina is the Principal Investigator of the ECHO lab. Before joining QMUL, he was a postdoctoral research associate attached to Morph Lab, Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London. He was also a visiting research fellow in Bioinspired Robotics Lab (BIRL) at University of Cambridge. Prior to this, he has worked as a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Moratuwa (UOM), Sri Lanka. Thilina earned his PhD in Robotics and Intelligent Systems from Saga University, Japan. He obtained his MSc. in Electronics and Automations and BSc. (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering from UOM, Sri Lanka. Thilina is a member of the IEEE RAS, SMC and EMBS societies since 2012.
Saitarun Nadipineni
PhD student (3rd year) / Research Assistant (EU PALPABLE project)
Saitarun's research focuses on understanding soft matter stiffness and developing sensors for stiffness measurement. He obtained his MSc in Advanced Robotics from Queen Mary University of London and his BEng in Electronic Engineering from King's College London.
Chenhao Hong
PhD student (2nd year)
Chenhao’s research interests lie at the intersection of soft robotics and rehabilitation robotics. His work focuses on the integration of flexible sensors and soft actuators to develop intelligent wearable systems. He is particularly interested in leveraging multi-modal sensing to achieve precise human-robot interaction and closed-loop control in assistive technologies. Chenhao holds an MSc in Advanced Robotics from Queen Mary University of London and a BEng in Automation from Dalian University of Technology.
Yongzhang Zhu
Researcher / Former MSc. student
Yongzhang is working on the development of embodied-intelligence-inspired adjustable sensors. His research mainly focuses on embodied physical intelligence and soft tactile/force sensing. Yongzhang holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science (Game Engineering) from Newcastle University (2022) and has recently completed an MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London.
Sam Marriage
MSc student
Sam is currently pursuing an MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London, working on the research and development of bio-inspired grippers based on the morphology of animal tongues. He holds a BEng in Electronic and Computer Engineering from the University of York (2026), where his dissertation project focused on a quadruped robot with a bionic tensegrity spine.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sammarriage
Portfolio website: https://www.samuelmarriage.co.uk/
Tanaree (Kate) Thongdoung
MSc student
Tanaree has worked on developing a pathfinding robot for a restaurant environment and is currently working on a desktop robot for non-verbal communication. Tanaree holds a BEng in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Queen Mary University of London and is currently pursuing an MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London.
Su Myat Kyaw
MSc student
Su Myat is working on the development of a facial EMG wearable for reliable facial movement sensing. This research mainly focuses on wearable biomedical technology and the analysis of EMG signals. Su Myat holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic engineering from Queen Mary University of London and is currently pursuing her MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence.
Michael Toheeb Bolarinwa
MSc student
Michael is working on the development of Robotic Physical Twins of Fruit. His research focuses on developing sensorised physical twins of fruit with tunable stiffness to characterise, improve and benchmark robotic grippers. Michael holds a BEng in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from the University of Bath (2023).
Zhengyang Han
MSc student
Zhengyang is working on robotic faces for studying facial shape and movements. His research mainly focuses on robotic facial actuation and measuring facial surface motion for cross-species comparison. Zhengyang holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Robotics Engineering from Wuxi University and is currently pursuing an MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London.
Mohammedmahdi Albaidhani
MSc student
Mohammedmahdi is an MSc student in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence attached to the ECHO lab at Queen Mary University of London. He holds a BSc in Computer Engineering from Mustansiriyah University and has professional experience as a Computer Engineer and Lab Assistant at Karbala Polytechnic College.
Jiahao Zhang
MSc student
Jiahao is currently pursuing an MSc in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence at Queen Mary University of London. His research interests include wearable robotics, rehabilitation technologies, and electronic and prosthetic interfaces. He studied Mechatronics and Robotics at the University of Leeds, where his undergraduate work focused on wearable robots for ankle assistance.
Past members
Veselin Lazarov Velchev, MSc student, 2025-2026
Yongzhang Zhu, MSc student, 2025-2026
Karthik Gaunder, MSc student, 2025-2026
Boyuan Chi, MSc student, 2025-2026
Rashika Chithoor Santharam, MSc student, 2025-2026
Zuhayr Alarakha, MSc student, 2024-2025
Wei Guo, MSc student, 2024-2025
Zongkai Li, MSc student, 2024-2025
Arif Mokhtar, MSc student, 2024-2025
Keshav Pandiyan, MSc student, 2024-2025
Jensen Jill Rajesh, QMCUR student, 2024-2025
Tanishtha Ramlall, QMCUR student, 2023-2024
Artmiz Mahmoud Zadeh, MSc student, 2023-2024