Leonardo Maglanoc

I’m Leo, a Robotics & AI research engineer focused on foundation models for physical AI. I’m completing my master’s at the Technical University of Munich and writing my thesis with Foundation, a Silicon Valley-based humanoid startup, where I develop language-guided dexterous manipulation using foundation models.

My mission is to make physical AI systems deployable at scale in human environments with safety guarantees — from semantic intent to torque-level execution. My long-term vision is to build toward certifiable safety standards for physical AI in Europe and translate them into deployable infrastructure for real-world systems.

Previously, I worked as an AI/ML research intern at BMW and completed the Siemens mentoring programme. My research experience includes safe human-robot collaboration (IEEE T-RO, demo), neuromorphic computing for tactile sensing, and spatial perception (SLAM) for autonomous drone navigation.

I build physical AI systems using Python, PyTorch, and C++.