Key Takeaways
- Rumble Rims beat 2,294 entries from 28 countries, the largest field in the James Dyson Award’s history, to take the Global Medical category and $40,000.
- The headset costs roughly $300 to produce and runs an eye-tracking test in two to three minutes, according to the award announcement and the Harvard team.
- Co-inventor Cleo Pontone cites 2 to 3 million sports-related concussions in the U.S. each year and a 12x rise in prolonged symptoms when an athlete plays through one for 15 minutes.
- The device is a screening tool, not a diagnostic one. Next steps are a higher-fidelity prototype, school pilots and medical device validation.
Rumble Rims, a low-cost infrared eye-tracking headset built by three Harvard University graduate students for sideline concussion screening, won the Global Medical category of the 2026 James Dyson Award on November 4. The team of Cleo Pontone, Radhika Saran and Sophia DeVito, all second-year students in Harvard’s Master’s in Design Engineering program, will receive $40,000 to continue development, according to the award announcement. The device is designed to give youth sports coaches an objective read on whether an athlete should come off the field and see a medical professional, a decision that today rests largely on subjective judgment and on athletes reporting their own symptoms.
A $300 Headset Built for Coaches, Not Clinics
The 3D-printed headset costs about $300 to make and is fitted with side-mounted infrared cameras, Yahoo News reported. An athlete puts it on and follows a dot across a screen while the cameras record how quickly and steadily the eyes track, fixate and move. A coach watches the results on a separate display, and the system walks both the athlete and the coach through the process step by step.
The award announcement describes the test as taking two to three minutes and says a mobile display converts the eye-movement data into real-time guidance on whether to remove the athlete from play and refer them for professional assessment. A recovery dashboard allows repeat testing over time, creating a record that families and clinicians can use before clearing a return to play.
The team is direct about what the device is not. “It in no way is a diagnosis at this point,” Saran told Yahoo News. Return-to-play decisions remain with a qualified healthcare professional, per the announcement.
Why Is Objective Sideline Concussion Screening So Rare?
Pontone told Yahoo News the U.S. sees 2 to 3 million sports-related concussions per year and that playing through one for 15 minutes can increase prolonged symptoms by 12 times. Existing objective assessment tools tend to be expensive, clinic-based or dependent on specialist expertise, according to the award announcement, which leaves schools, youth leagues and grassroots teams relying on sideline judgment at the moment speed matters most.
Symptoms also vary by person and can take up to 72 hours to appear, the announcement said. And athletes are not always forthcoming. “A lot of people are not really honest about their symptoms,” Saran said, which is why the team wanted to bring lab-grade measurement to the sideline. DeVito added that coaches told the team they want a tool that removes the pressure of making a call that can be argued with in the moment.
From U.S. Winner to Global Medical Category
Rumble Rims first won the 2026 U.S. James Dyson Award, then advanced to the Global Top 20 on October 14 alongside U.S. runner-up BiliRoo, an electricity-free phototherapy sling for newborn jaundice developed by University of Michigan medical student Daniel John, according to the award’s October release. A panel of 12 Dyson engineers selected the Top 20 on functionality, design process, originality and commercial viability.
Sir James Dyson personally chose the global winners from a field of 2,294 entries across 28 countries and regions, the most in the competition’s 21-year history, the award said. Since 2005 the program has backed more than 400 student inventions with $2 million in prize money. In his remarks on the selection, Dyson said spotting concussion is complex and usually requires specialist equipment and hospital expertise, so screening is not always done when it should be.
Before landing on the current headset, the team worked through prototypes involving helmets, mouthguards and chin rests, with feedback from coaches and medical professionals shaping each round, per the announcement.
Prototype First, School Pilots Next for Rumble Rims
The $40,000 is earmarked for a higher-fidelity prototype, a refined eye-movement assessment and validation with athletes, coaches, trainers and medical advisers, the award said. The longer-term plan is to pilot the device with schools and youth sports programs and pursue medical device validation. The students told Yahoo News they are also looking toward clinical trials.
For operators, the relevant question is whether a sub-$500 objective screen can clear regulatory and accuracy hurdles fast enough to reach the sidelines the team keeps naming. “This award gives us an incredible opportunity to progress towards pilots that could put Rumble Rims on every sideline,” the three inventors said in a joint statement.
- Source: Yahoo News, Kelly Sullivan, November 8, 2026, https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/harvard-students-develop-affordable-concussion-145123066.html
- Source: James Dyson Award press release, “Harvard Students Win the 2026 James Dyson Award’s Global Medical Category for Rumble Rims,” November 5, 2026, https://www.athleticbusiness.com/industry-press-room/press-release/16424404/harvard-students-win-the-2026-james-dyson-awards-global-medical-category-for-rumble-rims-a-breakthrough-concussionscreening-headset
- Source: James Dyson Award press release, “60-second concussion screener Rumble Rims named a 2026 James Dyson Award Top 20 finalist,” October 14, 2026
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How big is the youth sports market?
American families spend approximately $54 billion annually on kids’ sports and recreation, according to the YSBR and Kinetica Group Youth Sports TAM & Parent Spending Report, with organized sports alone representing a $40 billion-plus market. The average family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, up 46 percent since 2019, per the Aspen Institute’s Project Play, and market research projects the global youth sports market will reach approximately $114 billion by 2032 (Business Research Insights).
How many kids play youth sports in the United States?
Approximately 27.3 million children ages 6 to 17, or about 54.6 percent, played organized sports in 2022-2023, according to the National Survey of Children’s Health as reported by the Aspen Institute’s Project Play. High school sports participation reached a record 8.26 million athletes in 2024-25, per the NFHS.
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Youth Sports Marketing Questions, Answered
Where can brands sponsor youth sports? Brands can sponsor youth sports through local leagues and clubs, tournaments and events, facilities and complexes, governing bodies, and national platform programs. Sponsoring a child’s own program is the most powerful entry point: 81 percent of parents say it captures their attention, outperforming TV, social media, and pro sports sponsorship, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study conducted by YouGov Sport.
How much does youth sports sponsorship cost? Youth sports sponsorship costs range from a few thousand dollars for a local league or team sponsorship to six and seven figures for regional facility naming rights and national platform programs. The environment is welcoming at every level: 84 percent of parents hold net positive sentiment toward brands sponsoring youth sports, with negative sentiment under 5 percent, per YouGov Sport research. Most brands start with a pilot activation, measure engagement, then scale.
What is the ROI of youth sports marketing? The data is striking: 80 percent of parents say they would choose the brand that sponsors their child’s youth sports program when comparing two similar products, per a 2026 Priority Partnerships study by YouGov Sport. A 2026 EMARKETER and DICK’S Media survey found 84 percent of sports parents say that role influences their purchase decisions, and 60 percent spend more on game and practice days, driving loyalty across categories from dining to travel to automotive.
Ready to build a youth sports strategy? Vertical Sports is an Advisory+ delivering integrated expertise across all levels of sport. Youth, College, Pro. Every Fan, Every Level. Brands and youth sports organizations can reach the team at info@verticalsports.us.
