Quarry Lane School InvenTeam

Dublin, California
2020-2021

The Quarry Lane InvenTeam aims to mitigate the communication delays faced by athletes with hearing loss or impairment through their invention that alerts players to the referee’s calls through haptic feedback. The device consists of two parts: a whistle transmitter and a haptic wearable. Modules are remotely linked with nRF radio transmission and are controlled by the referee and player, respectively. When the referee presses a button on the whistle trigger device, it emits a synthesized whistle sound and wirelessly causes the haptic wearable to vibrate. The haptic wearable is secured around the player’s ankle with an adjustable fabric band—thus unobtrusively integrating with basketball attire. The invention is refined to meet functional specifications, such as a battery life of over 2 hours (the duration of two consecutive basketball games), a range exceeding 94 feet (the length of a basketball court), minimal interference to gameplay, and prevention of safety hazards. 

This is an alumni InvenTeam that received Lemelson-MIT’s InvenTeams grant in 2020–2021; the cause has been carried on by students over the past three years. Various milestones include a provisional patent application, testing the device with deaf athletes, and making arrangements with the National Federation of State High School Associations to implement the device with sports groups in the Deaf community. These groups include schools for the deaf, recreational sports leagues, and organizations for the deaf. The Quarry Lane School InvenTeam is currently exploring manufacturing opportunities to bring the device into production. 

The Quarry Lane InvenTeam was awarded U.S. Patent #20240416212 on January 13, 2026.