Prof. M. Manivannan

Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, IIT Madras

Email: mani@iitm.ac.in

Phone: +91-44-2257-4064

Google Scholar | XTIC | Touch Lab

About

Dr. M. Manivannan is a Professor of Biomedical Engineering at IIT Madras, Department of Applied Mechanics. He was a visiting scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) of Harvard Medical School, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Maryland. He was also a visiting faculty at Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore.

In 2005, Dr. Manivannan established India's first Touchlab (Haptics Lab) at IIT Madras. In 2021, he founded the Experiential Technology Innovation Centre (XTIC), India's premier multidisciplinary research center for VR/AR/MR and Haptics, and CAVE (Consortium for VR/AR/MR Engineering), India's first industrial consortium for XR with over 270 startups and industries.

Education

  • Ph.D. - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (1999)
  • M.E. - Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (1994)
  • B.E. - Guindy Engineering College, Anna University, Chennai (1992)

Research Interests

  • Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality
  • Haptics and Touch Technologies
  • Medical Simulations and Skills Training
  • Rehabilitation Technologies
  • Computational Biomechanics and Physiology
  • Perceptual Engineering and Perceptual Algebra
  • Human-Computer Interaction

Leadership Roles

Faculty-In-Charge, XTIC

Experiential Technology Innovation Centre at IIT Madras - India's first dedicated research hub for VR/AR/MR and Haptics, also as IoE Research Center on VR and Haptics

Founder, CAVE

India Consortium for VR/AR/MR Engineering - connecting 270+ startups and industries in the XR ecosystem

Journal Editor

Associate Editor for Medicine & Biological Engineering & Computing (Springer), Frontiers in Virtual Reality, and Frontiers in Robotics and AI

Major Initiatives

  • XR Corridor: Building India as a global hub for XR innovation by 2047
  • XR Academic Associate Program (AAP): Enabling XR adoption in Indian academia
  • XR Symposium: Annual international symposium on immersive technologies
  • XR Summit: Annual international summit on immersive technologies
  • XR Open Source Development: Promoting open-source XR engines and hardware for India
  • XR Experience Centers: Establishing demo and training facilities across India