Chris Mentzer, PMP has a BS and MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University and has been working with automated vehicles for over 13 years. He is the Assistant Director of the Applied Sensing Department as well as Acting Manager for the Unmanned Systems Section at Southwest Research Institute (SwRI). Chris was extensively involved in SwRI’s Mobile Autonomous Robotics Technology Initiative (MARTI) program. This program created an autonomous vehicle out of a 2006 Ford Explorer with which SwRI was able to demonstrate key technologies improving upon the state-of-the-art in-ground vehicle autonomy. This system has been demonstrated alongside other industry leaders in the field at the Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) World Congress in 2008 and the Army’s Robotics Rodeo in 2009, 2010, and 2012.
Mr. Mentzer performed system integration for the Small Unit Mobility Enhancement Technologies (SUMET) program for the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and is currently the program manager for the Dismounted Soldier Autonomy Tools (DSAT) program and successor programs related to the Robotics Technology Kernel (RTK) effort for the Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC). Additionally, Chris was the project manager for the Active Vision and Drive-By-Wire Evaluation projects for Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Pacific. As Acting Manager for the Unmanned Systems Section, Chris is also responsible for overseeing the unmanned ground vehicle programs at SwRI.
