Guest talk: Nicolas Mansard

On May 16, 2026, Nicolas Mansard (LAAS-CNRS, Toulouse) will give a guest talk on Reinforcement learning for robotics. Hosted by Ville Kyrki (ELLIS Institute Finland, Aalto University).

Date and time 

June 16, 2026, 15:00-16:00 EEST

Location

LUMI AI Factory Hub, Maarintie 8 (4th floor), Aalto University

Abstract

Recent advances in simulators, optimization, and reinforcement learning have enabled impressive demonstrations in robotics, but scaling these methods to reliable real-world deployment remains a key challenge. Our work focuses on revisiting reinforcement learning algorithms by integrating decades of expertise from numerical predictive control and leveraging differentiable simulators. This approach aims to achieve faster and more accurate convergence, while providing guarantees on the resulting policies. We further investigate global strategies to overcome local minima, planning across intermittent contact modes, and the integration of multimodal sensory feedback such as force and touch, supported by recent progress in foundation models. These contributions will improve robustness and safety in physical interaction, enabling reliable locomotion and manipulation in complex environments. Through strong experimental capabilities using one of the most advanced humanoid experimental platforms in Europe, we aim to translate theoretical advances into impactful real-world applications.

Bio

Nicolas Mansard is a permanent researcher at LAAS/CNRS (head of Gepetto team starting from 2026) and a member of the AI cluster of excellence of Toulouse ANITI where he holds a chair and is member of the scientific committee. He is a known expert in robotics and has made valuable contributions in Optimal Control and reinforcement learning. He regularly collaborates with academic scholars from CTU Prague, New York University (NYU), INRIA Paris. He is the coordinator of the EU project Memmo (10 partners, 4MEUR, recognized as a success story at ERF 2023 and awarded as a "Étoile de l'Europe" by French Ministery of research), and AGIMUS (8 partners, 5MEUR, ends in 2026). He was awarded with the Nokia-France Chair of Excellence in 2025 and will be visiting Aalto University from April to July 2026.