On January 16, a group of Stevens’s very own first and second years, Dominic Souza, Christian Osowski, Adrien Susino, Noah Golan, Mauricio Sanchez, and Jared Surajalli, were announced as finalists in the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s College Challenge, a robot design competition. Having successfully advanced through the preliminary phases, which included research and initial design, they will compete with a group from the New York Institute of Technology to determine which team’s robot will become a fixture of the Lincoln Tunnel.
The Lincoln Tunnel features maintenance catwalks that run alongside its main roadway. They used to accommodate small electric catwalk cars for employees to use for performing regular maintenance, accident, and fire hazard checks. This practice was discontinued about eleven years ago when the Port Authority determined the use of the vehicles was not a sustainable option. In response, the Port Authority hosted a competition back in 2023 that invited eighteen high schools to design a robot that would replace the outdated vehicles. Sanchez, a current finalist, actually competed in the 2023 competition and earned second place. The Port Authority decided to redo this competition in September and open eligibility to various universities.
In a conversation with The Stute, Golan and Susino mentioned receiving an email about the competition sent to the entire Mechanical Engineering Department. They quickly assembled a group and began designing their catwalk robot. It was after beginning their design that they were informed that the project was meant to be a senior design initiative. After speaking with the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), it was decided that they would be allowed to compete separately from any seniors who also decided to take the project on. By a stroke of good fortune for the team, it happened that no senior design team picked up the challenge, and the group of underclassmen became the only team to represent Stevens in the competition.
The primary objective for the round was to create an initial design, a presentation, and an eight-page report. With the help of its advisor, Professor Anthony Shupenko, the team got to work. Osowski took the lead on emergency detection, ensuring that the robot would identify fires and leaks, and focused on ideal integration between the sensors and system logic. Sanchez specialized in the artificial intelligence and programming aspects, developing algorithms necessary for the robot to track its location throughout the tunnel. Golan, responsible for the robot’s sensors, guaranteed that the robot could navigate the catwalk safely and avoid any obstacles. Golan also worked on the design, frame, and assembly alongside Susino.
In response to the Port Authority’s requirement for a communication system, Souza
designed the microphone system, microphone array, and speaker system to enable communication between maintenance personnel and centrally located Port Authority operators. Surajalli helped ensure that the robot would maintain a consistent connection after entering the tunnel and performed research on what motors to use to drive the system. Susino specialized in battery design, ensuring they remained charged and functional during use. Additionally, Susino developed the integrated CAD Design, implementing each team member’s contributions to create one large 3D model to submit to the Port Authority.
The team expressed their deep gratitude for Shupenko, describing him as their right-hand man the whole time. His mentorship and insistence on thinking deeper within the design and real-world applications proved crucial to becoming finalists.
Altogether, their efforts created LINC, the Lincoln Investigation and Navigation Cadet. Following their selection as finalists, they were given a $10,000 grant to create a prototype of the robot and present it to the Port Authority in October. Each team member was also granted an internship at the Port Authority for the summer. Moving forward, they will go through many progress checks with the Port Authority and will begin building in March.
Best of luck to the team in the final round of the competition!
