Students can be a commuter’s hero by designing a rescue robot for the Holland, Lincoln tunnels

Once upon a time, Port Authority police patrolled the Lincoln and Holland tunnels in tiny electric cars the width of a modest computer monitor that ran on catwalks above the roadway.

The catwalks that the tiny patrol cars ran have been decommissioned for at least decade and police responding to incidents now must fight through the same traffic an incident is causing to get to the scene.

Now, the Port Authority is asking engineers of the future to design a better way to patrol and respond to emergencies than stuffing an adult human something the size of a shopping cart or sending a full-sized police vehicle there.

The bi-state agency wants a robot, designed by students at regional high schools in New Jersey or New York that have a focus on science, technology, engineering and math curriculums. There is a $750 cash prize for winners of the six-month challenge and a potential resume item likely to grab the attention of most college or corporate recruiters.

The machine will have a tougher assignment than a star on BattleBots. The challenge for young engineers-to-be is creating a device to be the automated eyes, ears and possibly the mouth of police and tunnel officials monitoring traffic, crashes, break downs and delays in the tunnel and communicating with drivers.

“We are so excited to partner with young innovators within the New York and New Jersey region in the agency’s first high school challenge,” said Seth Wainer, Port Authority innovation director. “It is time we dust off the cobwebs on the catwalks and utilize them with 21st century technology to find out about stoppages, effectively communicate with drivers and address stopped traffic within our tunnels.”

What does the student designed robot have to do? It must be mobile and flexible, provide two-way communication between a stopped vehicle and Port Authority employees, have cameras and be able to function in the limited tunnel space.

There isn’t a lot of space to play with-the width of the catwalk the robot will all home is 26.5 inches wide at the bottom between a handrail base and tunnel wall and 30 inches from the wall to the top of the handrail. The robot design and size can’t get in the way of traffic.

Students who want to participate must be a returning high school student in fall 2023 at a school in New Jersey. Applicants should be part of a group of five to eight students with a supervising teacher. The Port Authority will host three online information sessions during the summer for interested students. Application information for students and teacher is online.

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Larry Higgs may be reached at [email protected].