Francis Govers is the Associate Director of Aircraft Autonomy at Collins Aerospace. He leads a team of engineers and designers for the next steps in aircraft capability, pilot workload reduction, resilient navigation, and assured autonomy.
Francis started his career in the US Air Force as a Satellite Communications Specialist, then went to NASA where he worked his way up to being the Lead Engineer for C2 for the International Space Station, and also contributed to the space shuttle, Moon and Mars exploration, and space robotics. He was the founder of the Advanced Simulation Laboratory at TASC, and led many simulation projects for Eurocontrol, NASA, DARPA and the FAA, including the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, BMDO, and numerous unmanned systems projects. Francis became involved in Artificial Intelligence in 1994, and has authored two books on the subject, and has become a sought-after expert, presenting at conferences and organizations like the Horasis Global Meeting.
Francis is active in the community, and has volunteered to work with ASTM, RTCA and GAMA (General Aviation Manufacturers Association), as well as being active in STEM programs – BEST (Boosting Engineering Science and Technology), FIRST Robotics, and helping start the AVR – Advanced Vertical Robotics competition, now in its sixth year.
His work in robotics and autonomy started in 1984 with industrial robots for assembly lines, and, with the DARPA Grand Challenge in 2004 branched into self-driving cars, boats, and aircraft. He is the designer or engineering lead for over 30 unmanned and autonomous vehicles for land, sea, air and space. His assignments have shown an increasing level of responsibility from Chief Engineer, VP of Engineering and CTO appointments. As CTO of Gamma 2 Robotics, he designed RAMSEE, the security guard robot.
Highlights also include publishing 48 papers or articles in periodicals, author or joint author of five books, including the best-selling “Artificial Intelligence for Robotics” first edition in 2018 and the second edition in 2024. He was in charge of the “Yellow Line” for NFL Football, designed the telemetry system for NASCAR and IndyCar, and managed a Zeppelin Airship for Airship Ventures.
At Bell Textron, he founded the Autonomy Department and supported numerous cutting edge development projects, including the V-247 Vigilant UAS, several UAS proposals, the Bell 360 Invictus scout helicopter, and the V-280 Valor, which won the Army’s Future Long Range Assault Aircraft contract. He founded the Textron Autonomy Council that coordinated autonomous vehicle projects across that organization.
Francis is the recipient of numerous awards, including five outstanding achievement awards from the International Space Station program, “World Changing Ideas” from Scientific American, the Chapter Award from the National Space Society, and awards from the Army and Boeing for Future Combat Systems. He was named a “Titan of Autonomy” by the Vertical Flight Society in 2023.
Francis received his bachelor’s degree in Math and Computer Engineering at Texas State University, and his Master of Science Degree at Brandeis University. He holds a commercial, instrument and multi-engine rating as a pilot.
