Raphael Blanchard portrait

Raphael Blanchard

Research Staff, Caltech
Robot Perception
Adaptive Robot Learning
Robust Real-World Autonomy

About Me

I am currently a member of the research staff at Caltech's Aerospace Robotics and Control Lab (ARCL), working with Professor Soon-Jo Chung. I deploy perception systems on platforms ranging from hexacopters and rovers in forests to autonomous racecars at the track.

My research focuses on how autonomous systems can continuously learn from and actively interact with the physical world, both in how they perceive their surroundings and plan their actions.

Previously, I worked with Professor Sebastian Scherer at Carnegie Mellon University's AirLab on cross-platform learning-based inertial odometry, contributing to TartanIMU.

Experience

Caltech - ARCLab
Research Staff
Visiting Student Researcher
Carnegie Mellon University - Robotics Institute, AirLab
Research Intern, Autonomous Navigation

Education

Ecole Centrale de Nantes
M.S. in Robotics
Thesis: Scenario-Aware and Adaptive Localization for Robot Autonomy in Extreme Environments
Supervisor: Soon-Jo Chung
University of Nantes
B.S. in Mathematics and Computer Science
B.S. in Economics, minor in Statistics

Publications (* denotes equal contribution)

Caltech autonomous racecar
Online Adaptive Learning for Robust LiDAR Perception in High-Performance Autonomous Racing
Raphael Blanchard, Haeyoon Han, Thomas A. Berrueta, Soon-Jo Chung
ICRA Workshop, 2026 (Best Paper Award Finalist)
TartanIMU showcase
Tartan IMU: A Light Foundation Model for Inertial Positioning in Robotics
Shibo Zhao*, Sifan Zhou*, Raphael Blanchard, Yuheng Qiu, Wenshan Wang, Sebastian Scherer
CVPR, 2025

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