About Me

I am currently a senior postdoctoral researcher at Inria Nancy (France), working under the supervision of Jean-Baptiste Mouret and Serena Ivaldi on the European project EuRobin. Previously, I held a postdoctoral position at the University of Edinburgh (UK) with Zhibin (Alex) Li. I completed my PhD in December 2017 at the University of Bordeaux (France), supervised by Oliviier Ly and Hugo Gimbert, working on small humanoid robots and participating in the international RoboCup soccer competition.

My research interests include complex multi-limb, legged, mobile, and floating-base robots, as well as humanoid robots, multi-contact tasks, and model-based optimization for whole-body retargeting and control. I am also deeply invested in machine learning methods for robotics, recently work on imitation learning using generative techniques such as diffusion models and flow matching. I especially thrive on hands-on experimentation with real hardware robots.

Recent News

Academic Experience

Postdoctoral Research Associate
Inria Centre at Université de Lorraine
Supervised by Jean-Baptiste Mouret and Serena Ivaldi.
Multi-contact whole-body control, teleoperation on Talos humanoid robot and Tiago mobile bimanual robot, imitation learning with generative diffusion-based methods in the context of the EuRobin EU project.
2022 -- Now
Nancy (France)
Postdoctoral Research Associate
University of Edinburgh, School of Informatics
Supervised by Zhibin (Alex) Li.
Teleoperation of bimanual arms, whole-body control of the humanoid robot Valkyrie, implementation of a demonstrator for the FAIR-SPACE UK project.
2018 -- 2022
Edinburgh (UK)
PhD in Robotics
University of Bordeaux, LaBRI, Rhoban Team
Supervised by Olivier Ly and Hugo Gimbert.
Title: "Learning and Correcting Flaws of Small Humanoid Robots: Application to Odometry and Motion Generation".
Participation to the RoboCup competition in humanoid soccer kid-size league.
2013 -- 2017
Bordeaux (France)
Research Master in Computer Science
University of Bordeaux
2013
Bordeaux (France)
Engineering Degree in Computer Science
ENSEIRB-MATMECA (Bordeaux INP)
Specialization in Robotics and Machine Learning
2010 -- 2013
Bordeaux (France)

Projects

EuRobin EU Project
The EuRobin project is a European robotics consortium led by the German Aerospace Center (DLR). At Inria, I contributed to the service robot work package, where mobile robots were used for navigation and manipulation tasks in a kitchen environment, handling objects on tables, in cabinets, fridges, and dishwashers. I participated in the project's hackathon in Seville in 2023, where I developed a VR-controller-based teleoperation system for the Tiago mobile robot. In Nancy in 2024, I designed the imitation learning module and helped define and organize the project's coopetition with partners from DLR, KIT, and Instituto Superior Técnico. I also managed the project’s cascade funding and supervised associated funded beneficiaries.
FAIR-SPACE UK Project
The FAIR-SPACE project focused on advancing robotics technologies for in-orbit space applications. At the University of Edinburgh, I developed a teleoperation demonstrator for a bimanual Franka robotic arm system for assembly tasks, collaborating closely with researchers from Imperial College London, the University of Surrey, the University of Bristol, and the University of Salford. My responsibilities included leading the technical implementation, conducting hardware demonstrations, managing daily project tasks, and reporting for the University of Edinburgh's team.
RoboCup Competition
As part of the Rhoban Football Club team at the University of Bordeaux, I participated in the RoboCup international soccer humanoid kid-size league in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018. Closely tied to my PhD work, our team improved yearly, ultimately winning the competition in 2016, 2017, and 2018.
I was responsible for developing the walk engine for our small humanoid robots, conducting model-based calculations, and applying machine learning to enhance odometry accuracy and camera-to-world position estimation. I also contributed to the vision pipeline, team play module, kick motion generation (via trajectory optimization), and the platform's engineering, including network and servo-motor communication.

Consulting

Software Robotics Consulting
TouchLab Limited
Designed and deployed a whole-body Quadratic Programming based retargeting and control pipeline for the teleoperation of their bimanual Tiago platform using VR controllers
2023
Edinburgh (UK)

Teaching Experience

Editorial Service