CV
Contact Information
| Name | David Olivares |
| Professional Title | Research Engineer and Scientist (PhD) |
| da.olivares@proton.me |
Experience
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2025 - present Paris
Research Engineer
Akkodis Research
- Worked on autonomous driving systems, contributing to the navigation stack of an autonomous car (Kia Niro).
- Developed control algorithms and tested them on a simulated digital twin in the CARLA simulator.
- Tools: ROS2, CARLA, C++.
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2021 - 2022 Toulouse
Robotics Engineer
Akkodis Research
- Contributed to the Gearbodies European Project involving a holonomic wheeled robot for non-destructive inspection of composite train carbodies.
- Developed a navigation stack enabling the robot to autonomously complete its inspection mission.
- Tools: ROS2, Gazebo, C++, Python, and sensor fusion for localization and mapping using time-of-flight, ultrasound, and 2D/3D LiDARs.
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2021 - 2021 Blagnac
R&D Artificial Intelligence & Robotics Engineer Intern
Capgemini Engineering
- Designed and implemented deep reinforcement learning models for quadrupedal locomotion of a wheeled/legged robot.
- Tools: OpenAI Gym, Stable Baselines, TensorFlow, PyBullet, Robotics.
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2020 - 2020 Les Ulis
Integration Validation Verification Engineer Intern
Safran Electronics & Defense (Safran Data Systems)
- Improved an automatic benchmark for testing and validating airborne embedded equipment (mission recorder).
- Tested embedded software including commands, encryption, self-diagnosis, and video signals.
- Tools: Ruby, military standards, video formats, and communications.
Education
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2022 - 2025 Palaiseau
PhD in Robotics
Paris-Saclay University — ONERA — Akkodis Research
Learning-Based Control of a Fixed-Wing UAV (FW-UAV) Under Wind Disturbances
- Investigation of reinforcement learning based techniques for developing autopilot systems.
- Results on model-free RL (PPO/SAC) versus model-based RL (TDMPC2) algorithms for attitude control of a fixed-wing UAV under wind disturbances.
- Extended this work to waypoint tracking, showing TDMPC2’s potential for hard waypoint tracking with complex acrobatic maneuvers and robustness to wind gusts.
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2016 - 2021 Paris
Master of Science, Embedded Systems Major
ECE Paris
Computer Science
- Relevant courses: Robotics, Reinforcement Learning, Linux Kernel Programming, Data Structures and Algorithms.
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2018 - 2018 South Korea - Suwon
Abroad Semester in South Korea
Ajou University
Software Engineering
- Relevant courses: System Programming (Linux kernel programming, drivers…), Data Structures, Operating Systems, Korean language.
Projects
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Challenge UTAC-CERAM: Autonomous Vehicle Platooning
Final-year project at ECE Paris Robotics Team.
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Robotics French Cup
Project with the ECEBORG Robotics Club.
Awards
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2024 Best Student Paper Runner-Up
International Conference on Informatics in Control, Automation and Robotics (ICINCO)
Received for the paper on model-free versus model-based reinforcement learning for fixed-wing UAV attitude control under varying wind conditions.
Publications
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2026 An Empirical Study on Temporal Difference Model Predictive Control for Fixed-Wing UAVs under Varying Wind Conditions
Springer Nature Computer Science
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2024 Model-Free versus Model-Based Reinforcement Learning for Fixed-Wing UAV Attitude Control Under Varying Wind Conditions
Proceedings of the International Conference on Informatics in Control Automation and Robotics (ICINCO)
Best student paper runner-up.
Skills
Programming Languages: C/C++, Python, MATLAB/Simulink
Technologies: Embedded/Real-time Linux, Raspberry Pi, 3D Printing, Prototyping
Libraries & Frameworks: ROS2, PyTorch, Stable Baselines, Gymnasium, JSBSim, PyBullet, OpenCV, PCL, Git
Languages
French : Native
Spanish : Bilingual
English : C1 (IELTS 7.5/9, TOEIC 930/990)