The James Dyson Award 2026 announces its two Global Winners

Published: 4 November 2026

Today, the James Dyson Award names its two 2026 global winners, each receiving £30,000 for inventions designed to make hidden dangers easier to detect, from structural damage after earthquakes to the harmful effects of concussion, including in sports. 

The problem: About 1,700 earthquakes of magnitude five or more strike somewhere in the world every year [1]. Major ones can have devastating consequences for buildings and the people within them, as well as causing significant economic losses. Between 1970 and 2023, geophysical disasters like earthquakes caused an estimated US$1.59 trillion in economic losses [2].

Earthquakes can cause cracks and internal damage to concrete structures that are not immediately visible, meaning determining whether a building is safe often relies on visual inspections and specialist testing. Following a major earthquake, when many buildings may need to be assessed at once, this process can be slow, costly and disruptive. While buildings commonly have systems such as smoke detectors and fire alarms to monitor other safety risks, structural damage is still often identified through periodic inspection rather than continuous monitoring.

The winning solution: Aldrei Ong, a structural engineer and graduate of De La Salle University in the Philippines, is helping to identify buildings at risk of collapse. Sentinel turns a standard concrete spacer block, a component already used to hold reinforcing steel in position during construction, into a low-cost sensor capable of detecting hidden cracks and internal damage.

Sentinel is made from self-sensing concrete containing conductive materials that allow electricity to pass through the block. When the concrete cracks or is damaged, its electrical resistance changes, providing a measurable indication of potential damage. Embedded electrodes connect each block to a small electronic module, which monitors these changes against the sensor’s original reading. If a significant change is detected, the data is sent wirelessly to an online dashboard, allowing engineers to remotely monitor a building’s condition over time.

Sentinel has been designed with affordability in mind, making it easier to install at scale. Because it transforms a component already used in reinforced concrete construction, Sentinel can be incorporated into buildings as they are built without adding a separate structural element.

Aldrei developed Sentinel through master’s research into self-sensing concrete. Over more than a year, he mixed, cured and tested more than 125 concrete samples to refine the material and understand how its electrical resistance responds to loading and cracking.

Sentinel sensors have now been embedded within a building in the Philippines for real-world monitoring. After winning the James Dyson Award, Aldrei plans to continue validating the technology, replace its hand-soldered electronics with a custom printed circuit board and develop versions that could be fitted to existing buildings.

The problem: Concussion is a significant concern, particularly across sport, from grassroots to elite level. Failing to recognise it can have dangerous implications, increasing the risk of more serious brain injury if an athlete continues to play. Recognising concussion when it happens can be difficult, as symptoms vary between individuals and may take up to 72 hours to develop [3].

Objective assessment technologies exist, but can be expensive and clinic-based, putting them beyond the reach of many schools and grassroots sports teams, while sideline checks depend heavily on human judgement.

The winning solution: Cleo Pontone, Radhika Saran and Sophia DeVito, students at Harvard University, have developed Rumble Rims, a low-cost infrared eye-tracking headset which aims to bridge this gap by bringing objective concussion screening to the sidelines.

The headset uses infrared cameras to measure how an athlete’s eyes follow, fixate and move during a short 2-3 minute test. These eye movements can provide an objective indication of neurological impairment. A mobile display translates the eye-tracking measurements into real-time guidance, helping inform whether an athlete should be removed from play and referred for professional medical assessment.

After the game, Rumble Rims’ recovery dashboard enables repeat testing over time, creating an objective record that athletes, families and clinicians can use to monitor progress before returning to play. Rumble Rims is intended as a screening rather than diagnostic tool, with return-to-play decisions remaining under the direction of a qualified healthcare professional.

The team explored initial prototypes of helmets, mouthguards and chin rests before landing on a headset using side-mounted infrared cameras and 45-degree dichroic mirrors, seeking insights from medical professionals and coaches throughout the design process. Their current prototype has been built for under $350.

After winning the James Dyson Award, they plan to build and test a higher-fidelity prototype, refine the eye-movement test and validate Rumble Rims with athletes, coaches, trainers and medical advisers. Longer term, they hope to pilot the technology with schools and youth sports programmes and pursue medical device validation.