Life-saving portable ventilator DRBVV wins 2025 UAE James Dyson Award

(MENAFN- Weber Shandwick) • A team of five engineering students from three universities has been named the national winner of the 20th James Dyson Award for their invention, the Disaster Relief Backup Volume-Based Ventilator (DRBVV).
• National runners-up include Sakhi, a community-powered app that helps users locate verified public washrooms stocked with menstruation products, and Kalam, a low-cost modular educational kit that teaches children coding, electronics and STEM concepts.
• All three inventions will progress to the international stage of the James Dyson Award for a chance to win £30,000.

The Disaster Relief Backup Volume-Based Ventilator (DRBVV), a low-cost portable emergency ventilator device, has won the 2025 UAE James Dyson Award. Developed by a team of five engineering students from three universities, brought together under University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), DRBVV aims to provide a reliable solution for critical ventilator shortages in hospitals, rural clinics and disaster relief situations.

The team’s inspiration came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they witnessed ventilator shortages worldwide. Motivated to create a device that was both affordable and practical for real-world emergencies, they built on insights from open-source ventilator projects and developed DRBVV through extensive prototyping, testing on silicone test lungs and careful refinement of hardware and electronics.

Now in its eighth year in the UAE, the James Dyson Award invites students and recent graduates to "design something that solves a problem”. The brief has remained the same each year, giving young innovators like the DRBVV team the freedom to apply creative engineering solutions to tackle major global challenges.

The Invention
A team of five engineering students, Ahmed Mujtaba, Umer Farhan, Maleesha Chamodi Kottage Rajapaksha, Halimah Sameer and Anush Dcosta from University of Wollongong, Heriot Watt University, and Middlesex University, designed DRBVV to address a critical gap in emergency healthcare: Hospitals and disaster response teams worldwide often lack affordable, reliable ventilators capable of handling sudden surges in patient numbers.

The DRBVV team spent months iterating through numerous prototypes, testing different motor-driven rack-and-pinion designs, 3D-printed components and electronics layouts to achieve precise, repeatable compression of an Ambu bag, a manual resuscitator used to deliver air to patients who are not breathing adequately. They created a DIY breadboard version for rapid testing and a mass-producible printed circuit board (PCB) to ensure the ventilator could be scaled for real-world emergencies. Each build improved stability and accuracy, reflecting a hands-on engineering process driven by real-life challenges.

Prototypes were rigorously tested on silicone test lungs to verify accuracy in respiratory rate and inhalation-to-exhalation ratio. The team integrated a touchscreen interface and rotary knob, managed by an Espressif Systems 32-bit (ESP32) low-cost and low-power microcontroller, allowing real-time adjustments and immediate feedback through alarms. Each iteration solved technical challenges, from motor stabilisation to battery integration, producing a system that is nearly ready for real-world use.

Combining precise mechanical actuation with flexible electronics and an intuitive interface, DRBVV is a portable, scalable ventilator solution capable of supporting hospitals, rural clinics and disaster relief scenarios worldwide.

Ahmed Mujtaba said: "Winning the 2025 UAE James Dyson Award is an incredible honour. What started as a simple idea inspired by the COVID 19 pandemic has evolved into a solution we hope can make a real difference in emergency situations. The journey hasn’t been easy – from failed tests to blown circuits – but every setback brought us closer to a working prototype. This recognition drives us to keep refining DRBVV to bring more life-saving technologies within reach of more communities.”

Dr. Fadi Aloul, Dean of the College of Engineering at American University of Sharjah (AUS) and James Dyson Award UAE judge, said: "The DRBVV team’s project is inspiring on many levels. They identified a real problem and approached it with creativity and innovative engineering. What impressed me the most was their ability to combine hands-on prototyping with a vision for scalable impactful solutions. This is exactly the kind of innovation the James Dyson Award aims to celebrate.”

Anas Abbar, Co-Founder & CEO of 7awi Media Group said: “Year after year, the James Dyson Award continues to spotlight the extraordinary creativity and determination of young innovators across the UAE. This year’s winning invention, the Disaster Relief Backup Volume-Based Ventilator, reflects the power of engineering to solve real-world challenges with tangible impact. I’m proud to be part of an initiative that supports and empowers the next generation of problem solvers and provide them with a platform to share their ideas with the world.”

DRBVV takes home £5,000 as the James Dyson Award national prize to support the next steps in development and commercialisation. The team will also progress to the next stage of the James Dyson Award, with the international Top 20 shortlist, selected by Dyson engineers, to be announced on 15th October, and the global winners, chosen by James Dyson, on 5th November.

Along with crowning team DRBVV the winner of the 2025 James Dyson Award in the UAE, the judges announced Sakhi and Kalam as the runners-up.

UAE Runners-up

Sakhi:
Problem: Many women face challenges finding clean, safe public washrooms that also have period products available, which is impacting health and comfort.

Solution: Sakhi is a community-powered app that helps users locate verified public washrooms stocked with period products. By combining technology with crowdsourced verification, Sakhi provides access to facilities that meet the needs of menstruating individuals.

How the system works: The application uses a map interface to display nearby washrooms stocked with pads and other period-friendly amenities. Users can filter by criteria, submit new locations and verify washrooms through local volunteers. Verified locations receive a “Sakhi-Approved” tag, creating a reliable network of safe public hygiene spaces.

Kalam:
Problem: Access to affordable and portable educational tools for children in under-resourced areas remains limited, hindering learning outcomes.

Solution: Kalam is a low-cost modular educational kit that allows children to learn coding, electronics and STEM concepts through hands-on activities. The kit is designed to be portable, easy to assemble and adaptable to different learning environments.

How the system works: Each Kalam kit contains modular components, sensors and interactive modules. Children follow guided lessons that integrate physical components with digital interfaces, enabling them to build, code and experiment safely. The kit supports scalable deployment in schools, community centres and at-home learning, providing an engaging STEM education experience.

MENAFN11092025004056014353ID1110047257