A concrete sensor costing just ₱10 per block to manufacture could help engineers identify signs of hidden building damage after earthquakes. The invention, developed by Filipino engineer Aldrei Ong, has won a major international honor at the 2026 James Dyson Award.
Ong, a De La Salle University graduate, received the Global Sustainability Award on Nov. 4 for developing Sentinel, a monitoring system designed to detect cracks and structural damage that may not be visible during ordinary building inspections.
Sentinel transforms a standard concrete spacer block, which holds reinforcing steel in position during construction, into a smart sensor. It contains conductive materials that allow engineers to monitor changes in the concrete’s electrical resistance.
When cracks develop, the electrical resistance changes. The system measures these changes and sends data wirelessly to an online dashboard, allowing engineers to monitor potential structural damage remotely.
Each sensor block has an estimated manufacturing cost of ₱10, excluding the additional electronics, installation and monitoring equipment needed to operate the complete system.
Ong said he developed the invention after witnessing difficulties with structural inspections following an earthquake in General Santos City, where buildings remained closed while awaiting safety assessments.
The technology emerged from his master’s research in civil engineering. Over more than a year, he developed and tested more than 125 concrete samples to improve the sensor’s performance. Sentinel blocks have already been installed in a Philippine building for real-world monitoring.
The James Dyson Award recognizes engineering inventions that address practical problems. As the 2026 Global Sustainability Winner, Ong will receive £30,000, approximately ₱2.39 million, to further develop his technology.
He is the second Filipino to receive the global sustainability honor, following Carvey Ehren Maigue, who won in 2020 for developing AuREUS, a technology that generates electricity using ultraviolet light.
Ong plans to improve Sentinel’s electronics and continue testing its performance in actual buildings before wider deployment, particularly in earthquake-prone countries such as the Philippines.
