Israel Active

A reminder of why El Al can continue to carry passengers to and from Israel while most foreign airlines have suspended services. Each aircraft is installed with C-MUSIC from Israel’s Elbit Systems, comprising automated laser-based Directed Infra-Red Counter Measure (DIRCM) protection.

The IDF can now send out location-based alerts to phones in case of large-scale emergencies. The system is based on Cell Broadcast, which is a method of sending short messages to multiple phone users in a defined area where accurate GPS signals cannot be relied on.

Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa in northern Israel is set to become Israel’s first micro-grid. Its wind turbines, solar energy fields and biogas storage dome will make it electricity independent should the national grid fail. Gilboa will be a pilot backup, providing decentralized electricity distribution centers.

The European Research Council has awarded Ben Gurion University’s Dr. Nir Shlezinger up to 1.5 million Euros for his project that aims to bring Artifical Intelligence (AI) to wireless communications. Dr Shlezinger won a Krill prize from the Wolf Foundation back in June (see  previously).

Tel Aviv University researchers have developed a process to turn any wet raw waste thrown in the trash into liquid and solid bio-fuels without the need to dry the waste. It involves using solar energy to heat the waste, removing water and oxygen, and using the residue as a solid fuel.

Interesting article about the Augmented Reality (AR) glasses from Israel’s Lumus. Its system of mirrors sends images directly to the wearer’s eyes so there is no need to look down at a screen. Useful for vehicle navigation, real-time translations, video calls. And very stylish too.

More fascinating details about Israel’s Revealense. It analyzes involuntary behaviors, such as tiny facial movements, voice pitch and heart rate, offering insights critical for homeland security and mental health care. It can also detect deep fakes such as manipulated video images.

Israel’s Startup Nation Central has produced a landscape map of 160 Israeli companies that address critical challenges in air defense, homeland security, aviation, dual-use applications, space technologies and more.

Israel’s Innovation Authority has launched a NIS 10 million program for organizations to bring to Israel AI-experienced graduates with an MA or PhD. The aim is for these experts to lead innovative projects, contributing to Israel’s economy and its status as a technology superpower.

Israel’s Combatica uses the Extended Reality (XR) features of Meta’s Quest  2 headsets to train law enforcement, special forces, and security teams. Cambatica focuses on building decision-making skills under stress and fire, using big data to reduce the risk of friendly fire casualties.