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Basics

Name Charles Villard
Label Ph.D. Researcher in Embedded Deep Learning & Robotics
Email charles@villard.it
Phone +33 650818590
Url https://villard.it

Work

  • 2024.07 - 2027.07
    Post-Doc in Embedded Deep Learning
    CEA List
    Researching neural network optimization for industrial applications within the France 2030 'DeepGreen' project. Developing compression modules integrated into the Eclipse Aidge open-source platform.
    • Primary focus on Tensor Decomposition: Developing novel methods to reduce model complexity and parameters while maintaining performance for industrial tasks.
    • Generative AI: Architecting generative models to synthesize high-fidelity training data for industrial anomaly detection, effectively mitigating class imbalance.
  • 2020.11 - 2024.04
    Ph.D. Student - Robotics & Computer Vision
    University Gustave Eiffel | IGN | EPITA
    Doctoral research titled 'Acquisition using lightweight platforms and data processing for underwater photogrammetry'. Developed a full-stack autonomous system for high-resolution underwater 3D photogrammetry.
    • Designed and built an autonomous USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle) catamaran as a modular robotic platform for agile acquisition.
    • Engineered a custom synchronized multi-camera underwater payload using low-cost sensors, achieving sub-millisecond trigger precision.
    • Created a hierarchical photogrammetry pipeline in MicMac to process massive datasets pose estimation for large-scale 3D reconstruction.
  • 2020.02 - 2020.09
    End Of Study Internship
    Safran Electronics & Defense
    Development of a hardware/software localisation layer for semi-autonomous off-road vehicles.
    • Integrating multi-modal sensor data (IMU/GNSS) within a real-time embedded C++ environment for robust autonomous navigation.
  • 2018.09 - 2018.12
    Software Engineering Intern
    LIRMM
    Building real-time software architecture for modular underwater mapping robots.
    • Ensuring deterministic behavior for robotic control in complex underwater cave environments using real-time constraints.
  • 2018.01 - 2020.09
    Research Undergrad Student
    EPITA Research Laboratory (LRE)
    Architecting multi-domain robotic platforms and vision systems.
    • Designed and integrated hardware/software architectures for submarine, ground, and air robots.
    • Developed and optimized stereo-vision algorithms for real-time obstacle detection and spatial awareness.

Education

  • 2020.11 - 2024.07

    Marne-La-Vallée, FR

    PhD in Robotics and Photogrammetry
    University Gustave Eiffel
    Mathematics and Information and Communication Sciences
    • Underwater Exploration Robotics
    • Photogrammetry 3D Reconstruction Techniques
    • View Pose estimation
    • Autonomous Systems Architecture
    • Synchronized Multi camera
  • 2017.01 - 2017.06

    South-Africa

    Abroad Semester
    Stellenbosch University
    Computer Science and Electronics
  • 2015.09 - 2020.09

    Paris, FR

    Specialized in Real Time embedded systems.
    EPITA
    Computer Science Engineer
    • Real-time Embedded Systems
    • Algorithmics & Data Structures
    • High-Performance Computing

Skills

AI Research & Optimization
Tensor Decomposition
Quantization (INT8/FP16)
Generative AI / Diffusion / LoRA
Deep Learning
PyTorch / CUDA / TensorRT
Aidge Platform
Robotics & Embedded
Yocto Project
Buildroot
ROS / ROS2
Real-time C++
Hardware-Aware Deployment
ARM / ESP32
Computer Vision
Photogrammetry (MicMac)
SLAM
3D Reconstruction
OpenCV
Point Clouds Processing
Technologies & Tools
Docker
Git
CMake
Redis
MariaDB
Programming (Preferred)
C
C++
Java
Assembly
Python
VHDL
Programming (Familiar)
Ada
Shell
LaTeX
Matlab
Go
OCaml
Javascript
PHP
SQL
C#

Languages

French
Native speaker
English
Fluent

Interests

Aviation
FPV Freestyle Drone pilot
DIY RC Drones/Planes
3D Design & Printing
Maritime
Scuba diving (CMAS 3* - 60m)
Dive Guide & Instructor
Ground
Speleology
Climbing

Projects

  • 2023 - Present
    Embedded Linux Course Head
    Designing and leading the specialized 'Embedded Linux Distribution' (Yocto) course for senior engineering students at EPITA.
    • Full curriculum design focusing on custom board support packages (BSP)
    • Teaching real-world embedded best practices