PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

François Chaumette

François Chaumette is a robotics researcher whose work links computer vision with robot control. He graduated from École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique in Nantes and earned a computer-science PhD at the University of Rennes before joining Inria in 1990. His work includes the 2½D visual-servoing method and ViSP, an open-source library for visual tracking and visual servoing. He shared a 2003 IEEE paper award, became an IEEE Fellow in 2012, and chaired a GdR Robotique thesis-prize jury in 2024. As of October 2026, he is affiliated with Inria at Rennes University, CNRS and IRISA.

Now at
Inria, Institute of Research in Computer Science and Random Systems, Université de Rennes and CNRS
Born
1963
Works
589
Citations
20,817
h-index
59
Badges

Years link to their sources. Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 22 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. 1987–1990

    Engineering and a doctorate

    He graduates from École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique in Nantes in 1987 and earns a computer-science PhD at the University of Rennes in 1990.

  2. Since 1990

    Inria and the Lagadic group

    In 1990, he joins Inria in Rennes. At IRISA, he heads the Lagadic group and researches robotics and computer vision, especially visual servoing and active perception.

  3. 2000

    A 2½D visual-servoing method

    He coauthors a 2000 paper with E. Malis that presents “2 1/2 D visual servoing” as a way to improve image-based and position-based visual servoing.

  4. 2003

    A King-Sun Fu paper award

    In 2003, he and Ezio Malis receive the IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Paper Award for their 2002 paper on model-free visual-servoing stability.

  5. 2005

    The ViSP software library

    In 2005, he coauthors the ViSP paper with E. Marchand and F. Spindler. The Lagadic team releases ViSP as GPLv2 open-source software for visual tracking and visual servoing.

  6. 2012

    An IEEE Fellowship

    In November 2012, he is elevated to IEEE Fellow.

  7. 2024

    A robotics thesis jury

    He chairs the GdR Robotique jury for its 2024 thesis prize.

  8. As of October 2026

    Research in Rennes

    In 2025, he is a senior researcher with Inria’s RAINBOW team and serves as scientific coordinator of a project that funded nine PhD and nine post-docs across groups in Rennes, Bordeaux and Sophia-Antipolis. As of October 2026, he is affiliated with Inria at Rennes University, CNRS and IRISA; his work includes robot vision, sensor-based control, active perception, visual servoing and visual navigation.

Career

  1. Since 2006CNRS
  2. Since 1990InriaResearcher, Senior researcher
  3. Since 1990Université de Rennes
  4. NowInstitute of Research in Computer Science and Random SystemsHead

Education

  1. 1990Université de RennesPhD
  2. 1987National Higher School of Mechanics

From the biography and OpenAlex affiliations (the years of papers that list the organization), so some years are approximate.

  1. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other universityIncludes François Chaumette. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology trained or employed 44 of the 187 AI major-prize winners, more than any other university. We compare doctorate and 5+ year employment links, career timing and current workplaces for 187 major-prize and 1,111 best-paper winners.
  2. The company share of AI researchers’ top papers was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974Includes CNRS. We estimate where the people shaping AI worked when their most-cited papers appeared: the company share was 31% in 2020–2024 and 8% in 1970–1974, and Google led all organizations in 2020–2024.
  3. Universities keep AI researchers for a median of 6 years, compared with 2 years at frontier labsIncludes CNRS. Across 15,811 dated work stays (6,529 people), median role tenure runs from 6 years at universities to 2 years at frontier labs. We compare all five organization types, starting decades from the 1970s to the 2020s, and the organizations that keep people longest.
  4. People shaping AI work at a median of 3 organizations over a career: 3 for university starters and institute and lab starters, versus 2 for company startersIncludes CNRS. Across 6,853 people shaping AI with a dated work role, we estimate a median of 3 parent organizations over a career (mean 3.6), comparing role groups, starting sectors and starting decades from the 1950s to 2020–2026.

Colleagues

People named in this biography, and people with dated positions at the same organization in the same years.

Sources and credits

Photo: We have no published photo of François Chaumette yet. Send us a free-licensed photo.

  1. Poziv na predavanje: Overview of research results in visual servoing ieee.hr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  2. CV HAL - François Chaumette cv.hal.science. Checked 21 October 2026.
  3. IEEE Transactions on Robotics and Automation King-Sun Fu Memorial Best Paper Award ieee-ras.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  4. LAGADIC - 2014 - Rapport annuel d'activité radar.inria.fr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  5. LAGADIC - 2012 - Rapport annuel d'activité radar.inria.fr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  6. Prix de thèse gdr-robotique.org. Checked 21 October 2026.
  7. RAINBOW - 2025 - Rapport annuel d'activité radar.inria.fr. Checked 21 October 2026.
  8. François Chaumette - IEEE Robotics and Automation Society Website ieee-ras.org. Checked 21 October 2026.