Who We Are
Headed by M. Bernardine Dias, PhD, Diyunu was created to fill a need for technology within the global community.
Our Mission
To enable all populations of people, regardless of socioeconomic status or ability, to access technology that improves their way of life.
What We Do
We work with underserved populations to develop technology that supports their vision of the future and moves their communities forward.
Why work with us?
Diyunu is a solely owned technology consulting LLC with expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence. While Diyunu's owner, Bernardine Dias, has a wide range of technology expertise and experience, her focus at Diyunu is in human-robot interaction, assistive technology, and technology for underserved communities. Dias builds on her past experience as an Associate Research Professor at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute where she lead research projects in several globally distributed labs and field locations, to effectively engage with a variety of communities, to understand both their vision of progress and the challenges they face, and to collaboratively create technology solutions that are relevant and accessible.
Diyunu has successfully completed the self-certification process as a WOSB (Woman Owned Small Business) for federal grants, and is one of the few WOSBs with over a decade of experience in state-of-the-art technology innovation.
Our history
'Diyunu' means 'progress' in Sinhalese, the native tongue of many Sri Lankans. The owner of Diyunu, Bernardine Dias, grew up in Sri Lanka where she developed a passion for harnessing the transformative power of technology to empower marginalized people. Dias fled the civil war in Sri Lanka after earning a scholarship to complete her B.A. at Hamilton College in Upstate New York. She completed a dual major in Physics and Computer Science with a minor in Women's Studies, and graduated with honors as Salutatorian of her class. She went on to earn her M.S. and Ph.D. in Robotics at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) where she was then invited to join the faculty. Her thesis work in market-based coordination of robot teams is still widely cited as foundational work in the field.
Dias founded and directed the TechBridgeWorld research group housed in the Field Robotics Center at CMU's Robotics Institute. For over a decade Dias and her team worked with disadvantaged communities around the world to design, develop and test different technologies that address their needs. TechBridgeWorld pioneered these projects in many communities around the world including in India, Bangladesh, Uruguay, Tanzania, Zambia, Ghana, and the USA. Dias also extended her work to the CMU campus in Qatar where she co-founded and co-directed the Qri8 robotics lab. Dias established Diyunu Consulting LLC in 2012 to extend her work beyond academia. She left academia and became a full-time consultant in 2016. Diyunu completed the process for federal self-certification as a WOSB in 2017 once Dias became a U.S. citizen. Dias has vast experience bridging the robotics world with underserved communities around the globe. She brings her significant expertise, global network, and decades of experience in innovation and fielding technology solutions to her work at Diyunu Consulting LLC.
Dias remains engaged with the robotics research community, and continues to be a champion of increased diversity in technology consumers and creators. She also serves on the board of the Environmental Charter School in Pittsburgh.