Romain Chiappinelli
Founder & CEO at Altitude R&D Chiappinelli
Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Summary
🤩
Rockstar🎓
Top SchoolRomain Chiappinelli is a founder and CEO based in Zurich with 10 years of hands-on experience designing UAV dynamics, control systems, and hardware-in-the-loop simulators. Trained at EPFL and McGill (MEng), he combines embedded systems and back-end C++ development—contributing to prominent open-source projects like PX4 and MAVSDK—to bridge flight-control research and production-grade autopilot software. His work spans simulation, SIH/HITL, VTOL aerodynamics, and real-time flight controllers, with practical consulting for aerospace and drone companies worldwide. Notably, he implemented global-position control and altitude-type support in MAVSDK and advanced PX4’s SIH to model fixed-wing and tailsitter dynamics, reflecting a rare blend of theoretical rigor and production engineering.
10 years of coding experience
1 year of employment as a software developer
Exchange year, ENGINEERING, Exchange year, ENGINEERING at National University of SingaporeElectronician CFC, Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician, 5.6 (6.0), Electronician CFC, Industrial Electronics Technology/Technician, 5.6 (6.0) at Centre de Formation Professionnelle Technique - Geneva (Switzerland)Bachelor of Science - BS, Microengineering, 5.52/6.0, Bachelor of Science - BS, Microengineering, 5.52/6.0 at EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne)Master of Engineering - MEng, Mechanical Engineering, 3.92/4.0, Master of Engineering - MEng, Mechanical Engineering, 3.92/4.0 at McGill University
French, English, Spanish
Github Skills (18)
simulation10
px410
autopilot10
mavlink10
simulations10
java10
c1710
javas10
sys10
embedded10
cpp10
aerodynamics10
protocol-buffers9
fixed9
grpc9
Programming languages (6)
Github contributions (5)
PX4/jMAVSim
Jun 2019 - Oct 2022
Simple multirotor simulator with MAVLink protocol support
Role in this project:
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT Developer
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT DeveloperContributions:1 review, 21 commits, 3 PRs in 3 years 4 months
Contributions summary:Romain primarily contributed to the simulator's functionality, adding features related to simulation-in-hardware (SIH) support. This involved implementing a "display-only" mode and integrating the ability to display autopilot states from HIL_STATE_QUATERNION messages. The user also worked on selecting different vehicle models, including fixed-wing and tailsitter aircraft, enhancing the simulator's versatility.
mavlink-protocolmultirotorsimulationsimulatormavlink
PX4/PX4-Autopilot
Feb 2019 - Jan 2022
PX4 Autopilot Software
Role in this project:Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT Developer
Embedded Systems Engineer / IoT DeveloperContributions:31 reviews, 17 commits, 12 PRs in 2 years 11 months
Contributions summary:Romain primarily contributed to the "sih" (Simulator in Hardware) module of the PX4 Autopilot. Their work focused on implementing and refining the simulation environment, including adding support for fixed-wing and tailsitter vehicles. They added aerodynamic models, time constants, and other components, as well as performed parameter cleanup. They also made code changes and improvements to enhance the accuracy and functionality of the simulation.
multicopteravoidancedroneuasraspberry-pi
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