With increasing bicycle traffic across the city, students at STEM School Chattanooga realized they had an opportunity to save lives with their invention.

Alayna Baker and seven classmates developed a plan to create a detector for cyclists riding in protected bike lanes, and they applied for Lemelson-MIT's 2016-2017 InvenTeams program. On Tuesday, it was announced that the STEM School team is one of 15 across the nation that will receive up to $10,000 to create its invention.

Winning the grant seemed like a longshot, Baker said Tuesday.

"But winning showed what we are capable of," she said. "This is a really great opportunity that I'm glad we got."

Lemelson-MIT's InvenTeams program, entering its 14th year, is designed as a way to encourage students to solve real-world problems, and this is the first time any Hamilton County school has been awarded the grant.

Baker and her classmates are in the initial stages of planning how the bike detector will work, but say the invention will use sensors to detect cyclists in bike lanes and then notify drivers who are at intersections or stop lights if they are nearby.

The invention also will provide real-time data to measure bike lane usage, and the data can be fed to self-driving cars in the future to prevent collisions, said David Wilson, a teacher at the STEM School and a sponsor of the group.

"Winning the Lemelson-MIT grant allows STEM School Chattanooga students to partner with some of the brightest minds in our country to solve the local problem of bike lane safety at intersections," he said.

At the STEM School, students are encouraged to be inventors, problem-solvers and entrepreneurs, said Principal Tony Donen, and this grant supports that mission.

"At school we want to provide students with the opportunity to identify problems and figure out solutions," Donen said. "They don't just go to school to regurgitate information."

InvenTeam students want to make a difference in the world by creating inventions that can improve lives, said Leigh Estabrooks, invention education officer for the Lemelson-MIT Program.

"It is rewarding to see students actively engaged and integrating STEM while working on their inventive solutions to real-world problems, but the truly inspiring impact is the long-term effect on the students and the leadership qualities the InvenTeam initiative instills in participants," Estabrooks said in a statement.

This year's InvenTeams are from 13 different states and represent public schools, charter schools, private schools and after-school programs, according to the statement.

Other teams are working to invent a system to provide temporary shelter for the homeless, a device to sense pets and children in the backseats of cars and a robotic device that monitors the environment to help prevent heat stress in young chickens.

Contact staff writer Kendi A. Rainwater at 423-757-6592 or krainwater@timesfreepress.com. Follow on Twitter @kendi_and.