The Bromfield School’s InvenTeam will travel to MIT to attend the EurekaFest convention this June and present its newest invention, an ultrasonic “cane” for the blind.

InvenTeam is a program begun by the Lemelson Foundation, which takes its name from Jerome Lemelson, a prominent American engineer and inventor. According to Gary Menin, the Bromfield InvenTeam’s teacher-supervisor, Lemelson “bequeathed an endowment to MIT towards the fostering of invention and the invention spirit.”

The process begins more than a year before EurekaFest. Teams submit proposals to MIT in April or early May. Says Menin, MIT decides whether schools have ideas for “viable inventions” and are “serious about the invention process.” Based on this, MIT awards grants of $10,000. At that point, teams begin working on the invention immediately, working through the summer.

Previous teams have included Bromfield alumni Brian Lynch, Arjuna Hayes, Ben Waldman, and Adam Katcher. The team’s current captain is Bromfield senior Mac Devlin. In previous years, Devlin says, the Bromfield InvenTeam worked to create a device for people with Alzheimer’s disease. The device, dubbed the APod, “communicated wirelessly with devices hooked up to household items … and alerted the user to any dangers or forgotten medications.”

Last year, the InvenTeam began working on the ultrasonic cane for the blind, an idea which stemmed from Menin’s brother-in-law, a blind man who suffered a broken collarbone after falling off his porch.

To get ideas for the specific functions of the device, the InvenTeam visited and interviewed blind people. Says Menin, “They weren’t concerned with drop-offs. They were concerned with things at head level.” In addition, they did not want the device to perform several complex functions; “They wanted the device to do one thing,” he said.

The device did not work reliably by the end of last year, so the team got an extension of the grant and is continuing to work on the ultrasonic cane this year. Should the device work, says Devlin, “An overhanging tree branch, a truck rear-view mirror, or an overhanging sign will trigger a small vibration motor … that is attached to the wearer’s wrist … The wearer will be able to safely avoid previously undetectable hazards.”

As the team’s captain, Devlin “[keeps] all of the subgroups on task, [coordinates] between them, [sets] up meetings, and [communicates] with the Lemelson Foundation.”

“It is my responsibility to make sure that the software and hardware team is keeping the CAD team up to date on their progress, that they are both communicating with the PR team, and so on,” says Devlin.

Menin claims his supervisor position is different than in previous years. He considers himself a “driver … I keep them moving forward.” In addition, Menin literally drives the team to different locations, like the Hampshire College Lemelson Center. Menin also holds meetings every week with mentors and students in his classroom. While he works to facilitate the students’ opportunities, he says the invention is “ultimately their project.”

The team often meets outside of school, according to Devlin. “The InvenTeam has an official meeting once a month at Bromfield … Between these meetings subgroups meet on a weekly basis … at the homes of teammates and mentors.”

Working separately, Devlin says, can make the invention process difficult. “Each group needs to be kept up to speed on the actions of the others in order to produce a cohesive whole,” he says.

Menin does not believe the process is difficult because of the complex engineering required to construct high-tech devices. Instead, he says, the most taxing part of the invention process is “sweat. You’ve got to put a lot of time into it… Are they willing to?... You have to troubleshoot, you have to buy parts… and people are busy.”

After completing the device, as it did with the APod, “the team travels to MIT for a few days to attend invention symposiums and to present their invention to the Lemelson Foundation and the other InvenTeams,” says Devlin.

“It is possible, as we did, to continue the invention for a second year and even to patent and market it,” he adds.

Marketing the inventions, Menin says, has “always [been] in the back of our mind.” However, previous team captains and team members have moved on to college.

Menin, however, is not concerned with how to market the team’s inventions. “Right now, let’s get something that’s working.”