independent not for profit corporation industry defense space biomedical energy founded 1932 as the mit confidential instrument development laboratory 1 1973 became the charles stark draper laboratory inc. headquarters 555 technology square cambridge ma 02139 3563 number of locations 6 key people dr. kaigham ken j. gabriel president and ceo 2014 2 revenue 493 million fiscal year 2010 3 number of employees 1 400 3 4 website draper.com draper is an american not for profit research and development organization headquartered in cambridge massachusetts ; its official name is the charles stark draper laboratory inc . 5 the laboratory specializes in the design development and deployment of advanced technology solutions to problems in national security space exploration health care and energy . the laboratory was founded in 1932 by charles stark draper at the massachusetts institute of technology mit to develop aeronautical instrumentation and came to be called the mit instrumentation laboratory . 6 it was renamed for its founder in 1970 and separated from mit in 1973 to become an independent non profit organization . 1 6 7 the expertise of the laboratory staff includes the areas of guidance navigation and control technologies and systems ; fault tolerant computing ; advanced algorithms and software solutions ; modeling and simulation ; and microelectromechanical systems and multichip module technology . contents 1 history 2 locations 3 technical areas 4 project areas in the news 4.1 inertial navigation 4.2 space navigation 4.3 intelligent systems 4.4 medical systems 5 notable innovations 6 outreach programs 6.1 technical education 6.2 draper prize 7 see also 8 references 9 external links history edit the display and keyboard dsky interface of the apollo guidance computer mounted on the control panel of the command module with the flight director attitude indicator fdai above . in 1932 charles stark draper an mit aeronautics professor created a teaching laboratory to develop the instrumentation needed for tracking controlling and navigating aircraft . during world war ii draper s lab was known as the confidential instrument development laboratory . later the name was changed to the mit instrumentation laboratory . the laboratory was renamed for its founder in 1970 and remained a part of mit until 1973 when it became an independent not for profit research and development corporation . 1 6 8 the transition to an independent corporation arose out of pressures for divestment of mit laboratories doing military research at the time of the vietnam war despite the absence of a role of the laboratory in that war . 9 a primary focus of the laboratory s programs throughout its history has been the development and early application of advanced guidance navigation and control gn & c technologies to meet the u.s. department of defense s and nasa s needs . the laboratory s achievements includes the design and development of accurate and reliable guidance systems for undersea launched ballistic missiles as well as the apollo guidance computer that guided the apollo astronauts to the moon and back safely to earth every time . the laboratory contributed to the development of inertial sensors software and other systems for the gn & c of commercial and military aircraft submarines strategic and tactical missiles spacecraft and unmanned vehicles . 10 inertial based gn & c systems were central for navigating ballistic missile submarines for long periods of time undersea to avoid detection and guiding their submarine launched ballistic missiles to their targets starting with the ugm 27 polaris missile program . locations edit draper headquarters in cambridge massachusetts . draper has locations in six u.s. cities headquarters in cambridge massachusetts ; nasa johnson space center in houston texas ; draper bioengineering center at university of south florida in tampa ; draper multichip module facility in st. petersburg florida ; washington dc ; and huntsville alabama . 3 technical areas edit according to its website 3 the laboratory staff applies its expertise to autonomous air land sea and space systems ; information integration ; distributed sensors and networks ; precision guided munitions ; biomedical engineering ; chemical biological defense ; and energy system modeling and management . when appropriate draper works with partners to transition their technology to commercial production . the laboratory encompasses seven areas of technical expertise strategic systems application of guidance navigation and control gn & c expertise to hybrid gps aided technologies and to submarine navigation and strategic weapons security . space systems as nasa s technology development partner and transition agent for planetary exploration development of gn & c and high performance science instruments . expertise also addresses the national security space sector . tactical systems development of maritime intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance isr platforms miniaturized munitions guidance guided aerial delivery systems for materiel soldier centered physical and decision support systems secure electronics and communications and early intercept guidance for missile defense engagement . special programs concept development prototyping low rate production and field support for first of a kind systems connected with the other technical areas . biomedical systems microelectromechanical systems mems microfluidic applications of medical technology and miniaturized smart medical devices . air warfare and isr intelligence technology for targeting and target planning applications . energy solutions managing the reliability efficiency and performance of equipment throughout complex energy generation and consumption systems including coal fired power plants or the international space station . project areas in the news edit the uss george washington ssbn 598 relied on inertial navigation while submerged and its ugm 27 polaris missiles relied on inertial guidance to find their targets . project areas that have surfaced in the news referred to draper laboratory s core expertise in inertial navigation as recently as 2003 . more recently emphasis has shifted to research in innovative space navigation topics intelligent systems that rely on sensors and computers to make autonomous decisions and nano scale medical devices . inertial navigation edit the laboratory staff has studied ways to integrate input from global positioning systems gps into inertial navigation system based navigation in order to lower costs and improve reliability . military inertial navigation systems ins can not totally rely on gps satellite availability for course correction required by error growth owing to blocking or jamming of signal . a less accurate inertial system usually means a less costly system but one that requires more frequent checking of position from another source like gps . systems that integrate gps with ins are classified as loosely coupled pre 1995 tightly coupled 1996 2002 or deeply integrated 2002 onwards depending on the degree of integration of the hardware . 11 as of 2006 it was envisioned that many military and civilian uses would integrate gps with ins including the possibility of shells with a deeply integrated system that can withstand 20 000 g when fired from an artillery piece . 12 space navigation edit the operation of the international space station employs several draper laboratory technologies . in 2010 draper laboratory and mit collaborated with two other partners as part of the next giant leap team to win a grant towards achieving the google lunar x prize send the first privately funded robot to the moon . to qualify for the prize the robot must travel 500 meters across the lunar surface and transmit video images and other data back to earth . a team developed a terrestrial artificial lunar and reduced gravity simulator to simulate operations in the space environment using draper laboratory s guidance navigation and control algorithm for reduced gravity . 13 14 in 2012 draper laboratory engineers in houston texas developed a new method for turning nasa s international space station called the optimal propellant maneuver which achieved a 94 percent savings over previous practice . the algorithm takes into account everything that affects how the station moves including the position of its thrusters and the effects of gravity and gyroscopic torque . 15 at a personal scale draper as of 2013 was developing a garment for use in orbit that uses controlled moment gyros cmgs that creates resistance to movement of an astronaut s limbs to help mitigate bone loss and maintain muscle tone during prolonged space flight . the unit is called a variable vector countermeasure suit or v2suit which uses cmgs also to assist in balance and movement coordination by creating resistance to movement and an artificial sense of down . each cmg module is about the size of a deck of cards . the concept is for the garment to be worn in the lead up to landing back on earth or periodically throughout a long mission . 16 in 2013 a draper mit nasa team was also developing a cmg augmented space suit that would expand the current capabilities of nasa s simplified aid for eva rescue safer a space suit designed for propulsive self rescue for when an astronaut accidentally becomes untethered from a spacecraft . the cmg augmented suit would provide better counterforce than is now available for when astronauts use tools in low gravity environments . counterforce is available on earth from gravity . without it an applied force would result in an equal force in the opposite direction either in a straight line or spinning . in space this could send an astronaut out of control . currently astronauts must affix themselves to the surface being worked on . the cmgs would offer an alternative to mechanical connection or gravitational force . 17 intelligent systems edit draper researchers develop artificial intelligence systems to allow robotic devices to learn from their mistakes this work is in support of darpa funded work pertaining to the army future combat system . this capability would allow an autonomous under fire to learn that that road is dangerous and find a safer route or to recognize that its fuel status and damage status . paul debitetto reportedly led the cognitive robotics group at the laboratory in this effort as of 2008 . 18 as of 2009 the us department of homeland security funded draper laboratory and other collaborators to develop a technology to detect potential terrorists with cameras and other sensors that monitor behaviors of people being screened . the project is called future attribute screening technology or fast . the application would be for security checkpoints to assess candidates for follow up screening . in a demonstration of the technology the project manager robert p. burns explained that the system is designed to distinguish between malicious intent and benign expressions of distress by employing a substantial body research into the psychology of deception . 19 as of 2010 neil adams a director of tactical systems programs for draper laboratory led the systems integration of defense advanced research projects agency s darpa nano aerial vehicle nav program to miniaturize flying reconnaissance platforms . this entails managing the vehicle communications and ground control systems allow navs to function autonomously to carry a sensor payload to achieve the intended mission . the navs must work in urban areas with little or no gps signal availability relying on vision based sensors and systems . 20 medical systems edit microfluidic devices have the potential for implantation in humans to deliver corrective therapies . in 2009 draper collaborated with the massachusetts eye and ear infirmary to develop an implantable drug delivery device which merges aspects of microelectromechanical systems or mems with microfluidics which enables the precise control of fluids on very small scales . the device is a flexible fluid filled machine which uses tubes that expand and contract to promote fluid flow through channels with a defined rhythm driven by a micro scale pump which adapts to environmental input . the system funded by the national institutes of health may treat hearing loss by delivering tiny amounts of a liquid drug to a very delicate region of the ear the implant will allow sensory cells to regrow ultimately restoring the patient s hearing . 21 as of 2010 heather clark of draper laboratory was developing a method to measure blood glucose concentration without finger pricking