By Gwendolyn Schanker

Alexander Aubuchon and Gabriel Centeno were introduced to machine learning research at the onset of their co-ops in January and July of 2017, respectively. Little did they know that by September, they’d be advising the U.S. Navy on avoiding maritime cyberattack.

Aubuchon, a third-year physics and computer science major, and Centeno, a third-year computer science and finance major, have both worked in the machine intelligence group at Draper Laboratory, a research organization headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts that is dedicated to applying technological solutions to complex problems.

Centeno is currently on co-op at Draper, while Aubuchon wrapped up his work near the end of this summer. Both students have had the opportunity to work independently on projects that contribute to Draper’s mission, alongside the team of around 10 people – many of whom are academic experts in their field.

“Draper is a totally multidisciplinary lab,” explained Aubuchon. “There are all kinds of projects going on. I ended up working on a hardware device for neural stimulation, which was not related to the machine learning group, but my boss helped get me involved. It was a fantastic co-op because it really lets you get into what you’re interested in.”

Centeno said that his co-op at Draper has been a great way to find his footing in the world of computer science. “It’s a little bit daunting at first, but I think it helps you grow up a little bit and kind of fend for yourself,” he said of his experience so far.

In addition to their work at Draper, both Aubuchon and Centeno recently participated in Hack the Machine, a hackathon sponsored by the U.S. Navy that took place in Boston from September 22-24. The Navy also hosted Hack the Machine in Austin, Texas earlier this year.

Aubuchon and Centeno participated in the hackathon along with several other members of Draper’s machine intelligence team. The event had three different focuses – one in cybersecurity, another in data science, and a third in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR). Each set of teams faced a different hands-on challenge. Draper had a team in each of the three sectors, but Aubuchon, Centeno, and the rest of their team focused on the data science component.

“They gave us a dataset of sensors from a ship,” Aubuchon said. “It outlined things like the temperature of this exhaust valve, the pressure on this engine pipe…all kinds of engine data.”

The challenge was to determine the most efficient way to break down the data to notify a theoretical maritime team when they were facing a potential problem, like a failed engine.

“They didn’t give us a defined task for what they wanted us to build,” Centeno said. “It was more like, here’s all this data, can you figure anything out?”

Centeno and Aubuchon worked diligently over two days with the rest of their team – first to parse out the data, and then to develop a presentation that the team gave to a room full of Navy architects. This process was quite different from a traditional hackathon, where the goal is usually to develop a tangible product over a condensed 24-hour period.

Their proposal outlined a number of ways to improve the Navy’s Integrated Condition Assessment System (ICAS). Their presentation on “ICAS 2.0” described suggestions for data maintenance and interpretation, including an algorithm that could help prevent engine failure.

The team was awarded second place in the data science sector of the hackathon and given a check for $1,000. Centeno and Aubuchon agree the experience was a great example of “learning while doing,” a principle that is consistently embodied in the co-op position at Draper.

“It’s an interesting mix of research and working on projects,” Aubuchon said of his experience at Draper. “You’re always trying to learn the latest of what you’re doing.”

Centeno says working at Draper has changed his perspective on his future career goals.

“I never thought I would even touch research, or machine learning for that matter, but this job really changed my mind about what I could do in a next co-op or after college,” he said, adding, “Draper’s awesome.”