Dr Raimundo Sanchez
Dr

Raimundo Sanchez

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 344 33778

Background

I build quantitative systems for understanding how humans move, perform, using data from wearable sensors in real-world conditions.

My work sits at the intersection of machine learning, signal processing, and sports and health science. I develop the analytical infrastructure that makes large-scale, free-living sensor research feasible: pipelines for IMU and GNSS data, predictive models for physical activity and pain dynamics, and validation frameworks for wearable devices.

At UQ, I contribute to the CIPHeR program (NIH/NHMRC-funded), investigating mechanisms of chronic low back pain through longitudinal modelling of movement, sleep, stress, and pain. I also lead Metric Trails, an applied R&D initiative developing high-precision geospatial standards for trail and mountain running.

My background spans academia and industry. Before UQ, I led data science teams at LATAM Airlines and built research programs in wearable analytics and geospatial modelling at Adolfo Ibáñez University in Chile, where I supervised 19 postgraduate theses.

I work across disciplines, with physiotherapists, sports scientists, engineers, and clinicians, and across an international network of collaborators in Australia, Chile, Norway and Spain.

Availability

Dr Raimundo Sanchez is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Biomechanics Communications engineering Data engineering and data science Data management and data science Data management and data science not elsewhere classified Earth Sciences Engineering Geoinformatics Geomatic engineering Geoscience data visualisation Geospatial information systems and geospatial data modelling Health Sciences Information and Computing Sciences Machine learning Mathematical Sciences Signal processing Sports science and exercise Statistical data science Statistics Stream and sensor data

Qualifications

  • Bachelor (Honours) of Industrial Engineering, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez
  • Doctor of Philosophy of Systems Engineering, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez

Research interests

  • Real-world wearable validation

    I develop methods to validate and benchmark wearable-derived signals in free-living conditions, focusing on data quality, uncertainty, and reproducibility. This includes IMU, GNSS, and heart rate/HRV, and practical frameworks to compare devices, algorithms, and protocols in the real world.

  • Field biomechanics and endurance movement

    I investigate human locomotion in outdoor environments, with a focus on trail and mountain running. This includes field-based biomechanics, sensor-based movement analysis, and study designs that capture real-world variability in terrain, pacing, fatigue, and movement strategies.

  • High-precision GNSS and terrain analytics

    I develop geospatial methods to improve measurement accuracy for outdoor locomotion research. This includes high-precision GNSS workflows and terrain analytics to reduce bias in distance, elevation gain, speed, and gradient, supporting safer, fairer, and more reproducible trail and mountain metrics.

  • Robust time-series ML for wearables

    I build applied machine learning approaches for wearable time-series that remain reliable under missing data, drift, and confounding. My focus is on feature engineering, model evaluation, and interpretability for real-world health and performance applications.

Research impacts

My research impact is grounded in the principle that decision-makers should understand and trust the systems they rely on.

At UQ, I provide the quantitative infrastructure that makes complex sensor-based research feasible. The CIPHeR program is a five-year NIH/NHMRC-funded study of chronic low back pain that relies on analytical pipelines I designed to process and model longitudinal wearable sensor data from free-living participants. Without this infrastructure, the core analysis of the study would not be possible.

In parallel, I developed the only published method for high-precision terrain standardisation in trail and mountain running research. Using multi-band GNSS and multimodal geospatial processing, the method achieves a mean separation of 50 centimetres between repeated 1 km trajectories on complex mountain terrain, establishing the measurement foundation the field has been missing.

At LATAM Airlines, I led development of an in-house revenue management system that priced every seat across the entire LATAM network, 365 days forward. It replaced PROS OnD, an industry-standard tool costing USD 2M per year, because that system made assumptions analysts could not verify, so they overrode it constantly. The in-house model was built on the same assumptions as LATAM's strategic planning. Analysts trusted it. Revenue execution improved 10x and revenues increased approximately 3% versus control flights.

Search Professor Raimundo Sanchez’s works on UQ eSpace

27 works between 2016 and 2026
All (27) Journal Article (20) Conference Publication (6) Book Chapter (1)

1 - 20 of 27 works

2026

Journal Article

Quantifying women’s water polo overhead movement volumes using inertial measurement units and machine learning techniques: a cross-sectional study

King, Marguerite H., Sanchez, Raimundo, Watson, Kate, Smith, Michelle D. and Vicenzino, Bill (2026). Quantifying women’s water polo overhead movement volumes using inertial measurement units and machine learning techniques: a cross-sectional study. Scientific Reports, 16 (1) 5773, 1-11. doi: 10.1038/s41598-026-36402-8

Quantifying women’s water polo overhead movement volumes using inertial measurement units and machine learning techniques: a cross-sectional study

2025

Journal Article

Psychological Profile of Trail Runners Associated With Running-Related Injuries: A Prospective Study

Gajardo-Burgos, Rubén, Sánchez, Raimundo, Besomi, Manuela, Viljoen, Carel, Janse van Rensburg, Dina C. and Bascour-Sandoval, Claudio (2025). Psychological Profile of Trail Runners Associated With Running-Related Injuries: A Prospective Study. Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach 19417381251397950, 1-10. doi: 10.1177/19417381251397950

Psychological Profile of Trail Runners Associated With Running-Related Injuries: A Prospective Study

2025

Conference Publication

High-Precision Mapping of Mountain Terrain for Human Locomotion Research: A Multimodal Geospatial Framework

Sanchez, Raimundo, Nieto-Jimenez, Claudio and Riveros-Matthey, Cristian (2025). High-Precision Mapping of Mountain Terrain for Human Locomotion Research: A Multimodal Geospatial Framework. 2025 15th IEEE International Conference on Pattern Recognition Systems (ICPRS), Valparaiso,Viña del Mar, Chile, 1-4 December 2025. Piscataway, NJ United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/icprs66293.2025.11302827

High-Precision Mapping of Mountain Terrain for Human Locomotion Research: A Multimodal Geospatial Framework

2025

Journal Article

Associations between training load, heart rate variability, perceptual fatigue, sleep, and injury in endurance athletes during a 12-week training mesocycle

Sanchez, Raimundo, Nieto, Claudio, Leppe, Jaime, Gabbett, Tim and Besomi, Manuela (2025). Associations between training load, heart rate variability, perceptual fatigue, sleep, and injury in endurance athletes during a 12-week training mesocycle. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching, 20 (5), 1918-1928. doi: 10.1177/17479541251335613

Associations between training load, heart rate variability, perceptual fatigue, sleep, and injury in endurance athletes during a 12-week training mesocycle

2025

Conference Publication

Can a season’s quantity of upper limb movements in elite women’s water polo be measured by inertial measurement units and machine learning? A feasibility study

King, M., Sanchez, R., Watson, K., Smith, M. and Vicenzino, B. (2025). Can a season’s quantity of upper limb movements in elite women’s water polo be measured by inertial measurement units and machine learning? A feasibility study. 2025 ASICS SMA Conference, Hobart, TAS, Australia, 29 - 1 November 2025. Chatswood, NSW Australia: Elsevier. doi: 10.1016/j.jsams.2025.07.159

Can a season’s quantity of upper limb movements in elite women’s water polo be measured by inertial measurement units and machine learning? A feasibility study

2025

Conference Publication

Classifying physical activity types using only GPS data: towards improving fair play on fitness platforms

Diaz, Claudio, Sanchez, Matias, Arce, Roberto and Sanchez, Raimundo (2025). Classifying physical activity types using only GPS data: towards improving fair play on fitness platforms. IGARSS 2025 - 2025 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 3-8 August 2025. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/igarss55030.2025.11243045

Classifying physical activity types using only GPS data: towards improving fair play on fitness platforms

2025

Journal Article

"Managing Type 1 diabetes during marathons: a case study on glucose monitoring and technology failures"

Montt-Blanchard, Denise, Giraudo, Franco and Sánchez, Raimundo (2025). "Managing Type 1 diabetes during marathons: a case study on glucose monitoring and technology failures". Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 49 (4), 279-281.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jcjd.2025.02.006

"Managing Type 1 diabetes during marathons: a case study on glucose monitoring and technology failures"

2025

Journal Article

How fractal complexity distorts distance and elevation gain in trail and mountain running: the case for course measurement standardization

Sanchez, Raimundo, Egli, Pascal E., Jornet, Kilian, Duggan, Michael and Besomi, Manuela (2025). How fractal complexity distorts distance and elevation gain in trail and mountain running: the case for course measurement standardization. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part P: Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology. doi: 10.1177/17543371251341660

How fractal complexity distorts distance and elevation gain in trail and mountain running: the case for course measurement standardization

2025

Journal Article

Towards validation of clinical measures to discriminate between Nociceptive, Neuropathic and Nociplastic pain: cluster analysis of a cohort with chronic musculoskeletal pain

Hodges, Paul W., Sanchez, Raimundo, Pritchard, Shane, Turnbull, Adam, Hahne, Andrew and Ford, Jon (2025). Towards validation of clinical measures to discriminate between Nociceptive, Neuropathic and Nociplastic pain: cluster analysis of a cohort with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The Clinical Journal of Pain, 41 (5) e1281. doi: 10.1097/ajp.0000000000001281

Towards validation of clinical measures to discriminate between Nociceptive, Neuropathic and Nociplastic pain: cluster analysis of a cohort with chronic musculoskeletal pain

2025

Journal Article

Inertial measurement unit use for elite women’s water polo upper limb external training monitoring: an observational study

King, Marguerite H., Sanchez, Raimundo, Watson, Kate, Smith, Michelle and Vicenzino, Bill (2025). Inertial measurement unit use for elite women’s water polo upper limb external training monitoring: an observational study. Translational Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, 11 (1) e000333. doi: 10.1249/tjx.0000000000000333

Inertial measurement unit use for elite women’s water polo upper limb external training monitoring: an observational study

2024

Book Chapter

Evaluación de la accesibilidad a la montaña en el Gran Santiago (Evaluation of mountain accessibility in Greater Santiago)

Sanchez, Raimundo, Zuniga, Sofia, Morales, Javier, Monsalve, Rafaella and Valenzuela, Luis (2024). Evaluación de la accesibilidad a la montaña en el Gran Santiago (Evaluation of mountain accessibility in Greater Santiago). Accesibilidad para ciudades equitativas. (pp. 295-314) edited by Carolina Rojas, Giovanni Vecchio and Felipe Ladrón de Guevara. Santiago, Chile: RIL Editores. doi: 10.5281/zenodo.17460141

Evaluación de la accesibilidad a la montaña en el Gran Santiago (Evaluation of mountain accessibility in Greater Santiago)

2024

Conference Publication

Assessing the impact of digital elevation model resolution on elevation gain estimations in trail running

Sanchez, Raimundo, Egli, Pascal, Besomi, Manuela and Truffello, Ricardo (2024). Assessing the impact of digital elevation model resolution on elevation gain estimations in trail running. International Conference on Electrical, Computer, and Energy Technologies, ICECET 2024, Sydney, Australia, 25-27 July 2024. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/icecet61485.2024.10698606

Assessing the impact of digital elevation model resolution on elevation gain estimations in trail running

2024

Conference Publication

Analysing gait transition dynamics in uphill trail running from wearable devices

Sanchez, Raimundo (2024). Analysing gait transition dynamics in uphill trail running from wearable devices. 42nd International Society of Biomechanics in Sports Conference, Salzburg, Austria, 15-19 July 2024. Marquette, MI, United States: Northern Michigan University.

Analysing gait transition dynamics in uphill trail running from wearable devices

2023

Journal Article

Carga de entrenamiento y variabilidad de la frecuencia cardiaca en una exposición aguda a la hipoxia hipobárica: estudio de caso

Nieto-Jiménez, Claudio, Espinoza-Salinas, A., Valenzuela Pérez, Diego, Sánchez, Raimundo and Besomi, Manuela (2023). Carga de entrenamiento y variabilidad de la frecuencia cardiaca en una exposición aguda a la hipoxia hipobárica: estudio de caso. SPORT TK-Revista EuroAmericana de Ciencias del Deporte, 12, 8-8. doi: 10.6018/sportk.597591

Carga de entrenamiento y variabilidad de la frecuencia cardiaca en una exposición aguda a la hipoxia hipobárica: estudio de caso

2023

Journal Article

Individualized visual narratives: type 1 diabetes management strategies among three runners in the London Marathon

Montt, Denise, Onetto, María Teresa and Sánchez, Raimundo (2023). Individualized visual narratives: type 1 diabetes management strategies among three runners in the London Marathon. InfoDesign: Brazilian journal of information design, 20 (2), 1-20. doi: 10.51358/id.v20i2.1111

Individualized visual narratives: type 1 diabetes management strategies among three runners in the London Marathon

2023

Journal Article

Hypoglycemia and glycemic variability of people with type 1 diabetes with lower and higher physical activity loads in free-living conditions using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with predictive low-glucose suspend system

Montt-Blanchard, Denise, Sánchez, Raimundo, Dubois-Camacho, Karen, Leppe, Jaime and Onetto, María Teresa (2023). Hypoglycemia and glycemic variability of people with type 1 diabetes with lower and higher physical activity loads in free-living conditions using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with predictive low-glucose suspend system. BMJ Open Diabetes Research and Care, 11 (2) e003082, 1-11. doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2022-003082

Hypoglycemia and glycemic variability of people with type 1 diabetes with lower and higher physical activity loads in free-living conditions using continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion with predictive low-glucose suspend system

2023

Journal Article

Not so rebel after all: Profiling personality traits in mountain running athletes

Lopez, Andrea and Sánchez, Raimundo (2023). Not so rebel after all: Profiling personality traits in mountain running athletes. Retos, 48 (48), 532-544. doi: 10.47197/retos.v48.95734

Not so rebel after all: Profiling personality traits in mountain running athletes

2023

Journal Article

Un año de seguimiento con frecuencia cardiaca variabilidad de la en trail runners

Nieto-Jiménez, Claudio, Sánchez, Raimundo, Besomi, Manuela and Naranjo-Orellana, Jose (2023). Un año de seguimiento con frecuencia cardiaca variabilidad de la en trail runners. Revista Internacional de Medicina y Ciencias de la Actividad Fisica y del Deporte, 23 (89), 446-457. doi: 10.15366/rimcafd2023.89.031

Un año de seguimiento con frecuencia cardiaca variabilidad de la en trail runners

2023

Journal Article

Delimitation of burned areas in Chile based on dNBR thresholds adjusted according to region and land cover

Sánchez, Raimundo, Briones, María José, Gamboa, Alexis, Monsalve, Rafaella, Berroeta, Denis and Valenzuela, Luis (2023). Delimitation of burned areas in Chile based on dNBR thresholds adjusted according to region and land cover. Revista de Teledeteccion, 2023 (61), 43-58. doi: 10.4995/raet.2023.18155

Delimitation of burned areas in Chile based on dNBR thresholds adjusted according to region and land cover

2022

Journal Article

Domesticating the condition: Design lessons gained from a marathon on how to cope with barriers imposed by type 1 diabetes

Montt-Blanchard, Denise, Dubois-Camacho, Karen, Costa-Cordella, Stefanella and Sánchez, Raimundo (2022). Domesticating the condition: Design lessons gained from a marathon on how to cope with barriers imposed by type 1 diabetes. Frontiers in Psychology, 13 1013877, 1-19. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1013877

Domesticating the condition: Design lessons gained from a marathon on how to cope with barriers imposed by type 1 diabetes

Availability

Dr Raimundo Sanchez is:
Available for supervision

Looking for a supervisor? Read our advice on how to choose a supervisor.

Available projects

  • Real-world validation and benchmarking of wearable signals

    Develop a practical validation framework for wearable-derived signals in free-living settings, focusing on data quality, uncertainty, and reproducibility. The project will benchmark IMU, GNSS, and heart rate/HRV metrics across devices and protocols, and produce a reusable analysis pipeline. Outcomes include validation datasets, benchmark metrics, and recommendations for robust study design. Suitable for candidates with Python/R, time series, and interest in real-world wearables.

  • Field biomechanics in trail and mountain locomotion using wearables

    Quantify movement strategies in outdoor terrain using wearable sensors, linking biomechanics to terrain, pacing, fatigue, and performance. The project will combine IMU-based movement features with GNSS-derived context, with field protocols designed for ecological validity. Outcomes include validated features for outdoor locomotion research and guidance on best-practice field measurement. Suitable for candidates with biomechanics or sensor analytics background.

  • High-precision GNSS and terrain analytics for reproducible trail metrics

    Improve measurement accuracy of distance, elevation gain, speed, and gradient in outdoor locomotion by combining high-precision GNSS workflows and terrain analytics. The project will evaluate sources of bias in common tools and propose reproducible standards and pipelines for research-grade trail measurement. Outcomes include methods, datasets, and practical standards for field studies and events. Suitable for candidates with geospatial analytics, GNSS, or applied modelling.

  • Robust time-series ML for activity classification and anomaly detection

    Develop robust ML methods for wearable time-series to classify activity types and detect anomalies under real-world noise, drift, and mislabeling. Use GNSS and optional IMU/HR features to build models that generalize across users and environments, with emphasis on evaluation and interpretability. Outcomes include deployable modelling recipes and validation results relevant to fitness and health platforms. Suitable for candidates with ML and feature engineering skills.

Supervision history

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Raimundo Sanchez directly for media enquiries about:

  • artificial intelligence
  • data science
  • fitness trackers
  • GPS tracking
  • health wearables
  • hiking
  • human movement
  • mapping
  • mountain
  • movement tracking
  • physical activity
  • running science
  • sensor data
  • smartwatches
  • sports technology
  • terrain
  • trail running
  • wearable technology

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