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Postdoctoral Researcher · Senior Lecturer

Yasas Wickramasinghe

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe, augmented reality researcher and lecturer

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe — Postdoctoral Researcher at HIT Lab NZ & Senior Lecturer

Location-based AR & spatial computing research at the University of Canterbury.

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150K+ ↗ learners reached through platforms I helped build

AR · XR · HCI research at HIT Lab NZ, in collaboration with Sony Interactive Entertainment.

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What my students say,
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Thousands of learners across universities, MOOCs and workshops — from Colombo to Christchurch.

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16 countries 23 voices
About

Collaborating at the intersection of spatial interfaces and human behavior.

I'm Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe — a Postdoctoral Researcher at HIT Lab NZ (University of Canterbury) and Senior Lecturer at Yoobee College of Creative Innovation. I hold a PhD in Human Interface Technology, with a dissertation on designing multiplayer location-based AR games that connect remote players and places.

My work is conducted with industry partners including Sony Interactive Entertainment (Japan) and Niantic, Inc. Earlier I co-founded NavitaZ VR Labs under the MIT Global Startup Labs programme and led Sri Lanka's first large-scale MOOC platform.

Trusted by
HIT Lab NZ, University of Canterbury — augmented reality research lab logo Sony Interactive Entertainment logo Niantic Spatial logo
Get in Touch → See My Work
Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe at his PhD graduation, University of Canterbury
Academic Platform

Work with me, directly

Consultations, speaking invitations, writing, and a student community — in one place, at yasassri.me/app.

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30–45 min on education, research or career guidance — no charge.

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Keynotes, guest lectures, workshops and panels — browse topics.

Read the Blog

Writing on HCI, AR/VR, software engineering and education.

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Ask questions, help peers, and stay connected as a community.
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What I Explore

Three research frontiers

Where spatial computing meets human behaviour — grounded in peer-reviewed studies and industry deployment.

01

Location-Based AR

Designing multiplayer AR experiences that meaningfully connect remote players to real-world places.

02

Spatial Computing & XR

Studying how immersive interfaces reshape cognition, trust, and decision-making in shared spaces.

03

Player Experience & HCI

Evaluating how people feel, behave, and collaborate inside the systems we design and deploy.

Selected Work

Selected Research & Deployments

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe wearing AR eye-tracking glasses and reviewing a location-based AR scene on a tablet
Entertainment Computing · Elsevier · 2025

Representing Remote Locations with Location-Based AR Game Design

A multiplayer location-based AR system, designed and evaluated with Sony Interactive Entertainment, exploring how players experience and represent distant real-world places together — published across leading HCI venues.

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New Book

The Collaboration Reflex

Why the “right” answer to conflict is usually wrong

Conflict shows up in every team, every project, every workplace — and almost everyone reaches for the same answer: collaborate, find the win-win. This book argues that reflex is usually wrong, using forty-five real, anonymised workplace conflicts to show when collaboration works, when it backfires, and what to do instead.

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Free download · sign in required · takes under a minute

Book cover: The Collaboration Reflex — Why the ‘right’ answer to conflict is usually wrong, by Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe, PhD
Upcoming

Upcoming talks & workshops

Two engagements on the calendar — or invite me for something similar.

CODE with WIE 2026 Workshop 01 flyer — Architecting the Augmented Tomorrow, with speaker Dr. Yasas Sri WickramasingheWorkshop
IEEE WIE Sri Lanka · 11 July 2026

CODE with WIE 2026 — Architecting the Augmented Tomorrow

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NZGDC 2026 speaker flyer — Designing Shared Worlds Across Distance: Lessons from Multiplayer AR Game ResearchConference Talk
NZGDC · 1 October 2026

Designing Shared Worlds Across Distance

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In the News

On stage, in the field, in the news

Invited talks, international collaborations and outreach — where the research meets people and places.

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe presenting at the Interactive Content Design Lab, Tohoku University, JapanCollaboration
Tohoku University · Dec 2025

Research Visit to Tohoku University — An NZ–Japan AR Collaboration

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Official Falling Walls Lab Aotearoa New Zealand 2024 cohort collage of all nineteen participants, including Dr. Yasas Sri WickramasingheFalling Walls Lab
Royal Society Te Apārangi · 2024

Breaking the Wall of Loneliness Through Play

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Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe presenting on the AR game development panel at NZGDC 2023, alongside fellow panelistsNZGDC 2023
YouTube · Panel

Talking AR Game Design on the National Stage

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What I Do

Research, teaching & practice

Rigorous academic research, hands-on engineering, and high-engagement postgraduate teaching.

Research & Publications

Peer-reviewed work in AR, XR and HCI — from study design and experimental platforms to journal and conference papers.

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Teaching & Supervision

Master's-level courses in information systems and project management, plus capstone and thesis supervision — gamified and high-engagement.

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XR & Software Development

Building immersive prototypes and production systems with Unity, OpenXR and Niantic Lightship — drawing on a senior engineering background.

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Talks & Consulting

Speaking and advising on immersive media, spatial computing strategy, and translating emerging XR research into product.

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In Their Words

From collaborators & students

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe collaborating with HIT Lab NZ and Sony Interactive Entertainment research partners
"
Yasas brings rare range — the rigour of a researcher and the instincts of a builder. His work on location-based AR genuinely advanced how we think about connecting remote players, and his teaching makes complex ideas click for students.
Research & Industry PartnersHIT Lab NZ · Sony Interactive Entertainment
Student Perspectives
“I took his free course on a whim and ended up changing my career into HCI. That's the kind of teacher he is.”
Maya Robinson Online MOOC — AR Fundamentals United States
“Yasas pushed my AR project further than I thought I could take it — rigorous feedback, always delivered with kindness.”
Liam Carter Capstone supervisee · University of Canterbury New Zealand
“Access to teaching this good, for free, from Lagos — it genuinely opened a door for me into XR.”
Adaeze Okonkwo Online MOOC — AR Fundamentals Nigeria
Collaboration

Research collaborations, talks & advisory

For a research collaboration, a guest lecture, or advice on an immersive project — my inbox is open.

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43.53° S, 172.63° EŌtautahi Christchurch — collaborating worldwide
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Who is Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe?

Dr. Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe is an augmented reality researcher, university lecturer and software builder based in Christchurch, New Zealand. He is a Postdoctoral Researcher at HIT Lab NZ (University of Canterbury) and a Senior Lecturer at Yoobee College of Creative Innovation.

What does Yasas Sri Wickramasinghe research?

His research focuses on location-based augmented reality (AR), spatial computing and human-computer interaction (HCI) — in particular multiplayer AR games that connect remote players and places, conducted with industry partners including Sony Interactive Entertainment and Niantic.

Where does he teach?

He is a Senior Lecturer at Yoobee College of Creative Innovation, teaching postgraduate information systems and project management, including the Master of Business Informatics (MBI) programme across the Auckland and Christchurch campuses.

What web products has he built?

He has designed and built HouseScout (a property-intelligence dashboard for Christchurch home buyers), Faro (a machine-learning flight-fare timing assistant) and Yoobees (an EdTech attendance and learning-support platform). See the Products page.

How can I get in touch?

You can reach out via the contact page for research collaborations, guest talks, consulting and academic mentorship.