PeopleofSuperintelligence

Researcher

Stefan Leutenegger

Stefan Leutenegger is a robotics researcher whose work connects mobile robotics with spatial AI and robot learning. He earned a gliding pilot license at 16 and three engineering degrees at ETH Zurich, then held robotics posts at Imperial College London and in machine learning for robotics at the Technical University of Munich. His research includes keyframe-based visual-inertial SLAM and SimpleMapping, a dense mapping method with deep multi-view stereo; he also co-founded SLAMcore. He is Associate Professor of Mobile Robotics at ETH Zurich and heads the Mobile Robotics Lab; a 2015 visual-inertial odometry paper he coauthored won the 2025 IJRR Test of Time Award.

Works
167
Citations
17,982
h-index
40
Badges

Publication numbers from OpenAlex, as of 27 October 2026.

Timeline

  1. By 2009

    Gliding and engineering degrees

    At 16, he earns a gliding pilot license, then studies mechanical engineering at ETH Zurich and receives a bachelor's degree in 2006 and a master's degree in 2009.

  2. 2013

    Keyframe-based visual-inertial SLAM

    In 2013, he and five collaborators present a keyframe-based visual-inertial SLAM method that tightly integrates visual measurements with inertial measurement unit (IMU) readings. Keyframes keep the optimization window bounded for real-time operation.

  3. 2014–2021

    An ETH doctorate and Imperial robotics

    He completes a doctorate in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering at ETH Zurich in 2014 while training as a PhD student and research assistant in the Autonomous Systems Lab. From 2014 to 2021, he serves as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer and Reader in Robotics in Imperial College London's Department of Computing, where he leads the Smart Robotics Lab and researches autonomous robot navigation.

  4. 2016

    Co-founding SLAMcore

    He co-founds SLAMcore at Imperial College with Andrew Davison, Jacek Zienkiewicz and Owen Nicholson in 2016.

  5. 2021–2025

    Machine learning for robotics

    From 2021 to 2025, he serves as Assistant Professor for Machine Learning for Robotics at the Technical University of Munich.

  6. 2023

    SimpleMapping dense mapping

    In 2023, he coauthors SimpleMapping, a real-time visual-inertial dense-mapping method with deep multi-view stereo that builds 3D meshes from sequential monocular images and IMU readings. On challenging EuRoC scenarios, it improves F-score by 39.7% over existing systems.

  7. 2025

    An IJRR Test of Time Award

    In 2025, his 2015 paper with Simon Lynen, Michael Bosse, Roland Siegwart and Paul Furgale, “Keyframe-based Visual–Inertial Odometry Using Nonlinear Optimization,” wins the IJRR Test of Time Award.

  8. Since 2025

    Mobile robotics at ETH

    He returns to ETH Zurich on 1 April 2025 as Associate Professor of Mobile Robotics in the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering. By October 2025, he heads the Mobile Robotics Lab; he is also a PI in NCCR Automation at ETH Zurich, where his lab develops Spatial AI for mobile robots and works on mobile manipulation and robot learning.

Career

  1. Since 2025ETH ZurichAssociate Professor of Mobile Robotics
  2. NowETH ZurichHead of the Mobile Robotics Lab
  3. NowETH ZurichPrincipal Investigator in NCCR Automation
  4. Until 2021Imperial College LondonReader in Robotics
  5. 2021–2025Technical University of MunichAssistant Professor for Machine Learning for Robotics
  6. From 2016SLAMcoreCo-founder
  7. From 2014Imperial College LondonLecturer in Robotics
  8. ETH ZurichResearch Assistant in the Autonomous Systems Lab
  9. Imperial College LondonSenior Lecturer in Robotics
  10. Imperial College LondonHead of the Smart Robotics Lab

Education

  1. 2014ETH ZurichPhD in Mechatronics, Robotics and Automation Engineering
  2. 2009ETH ZurichMaster's Degree in Mechanical Engineering
  3. 2006ETH ZurichBachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering

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

Colleagues

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

Sources and credits

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  1. New professor of mobile robotics mavt.ethz.ch. Checked 27 October 2026.
  2. Keyframe-Based Visual-Inertial SLAM using Nonlinear Optimization roboticsproceedings.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  3. Dr Stefan Leutenegger | Smart Robotics Lab wp.doc.ic.ac.uk. Checked 27 October 2026.
  4. About Us | Slamcore slamcore.com. Checked 27 October 2026.
  5. SimpleMapping: Real-Time Visual-Inertial Dense Mapping with Deep Multi-View Stereo arxiv.org. Checked 27 October 2026.
  6. 2025 IJRR Test of Time Award mrl.ethz.ch. Checked 27 October 2026.
  7. Inaugural Lecture: Making Robots Smart(er) mrl.ethz.ch. Checked 27 October 2026.
  8. Stefan Leutenegger | NCCR Automation nccr-automation.ch. Checked 27 October 2026.