Israel Active

Israel’s Terra Space Lab aims to alert firefighters to forest fires before they “explode”, wreaking havoc on biodiversity and people’s homes. It will launch some 25 tiny CubeSats into space, each with remote sensing Earth Observation technology to scan large areas of the planet in real-time.

Israel’s Pyramid Analytics (see previously) has developed a decision intelligence platform that aims to help business managers make faster, more intelligent decisions. Clients include Liberty of London, Siemens, VW, London Stock Exchange, and Deloitte.

Israel’s Innovation Authority has launched the Lighthouse Program together with the Korea-Israel Industrial R&D Foundation. It will fund joint Israel-Korean robotics projects up to $5.3 million in sectors including health, social and agriculture.  Also, see previously.

Israeli startup Ception has unveiled MineCept - an AI-based system that reduces accidents and improves productivity and profitability of heavy equipment at construction sites, mines, quarries, and industrial plants. MineCept comprises hardware & sensors, a central control, and a site awareness system.

Israeli startup Speak has created a marketplace that enables students to connect with language teachers worldwide at any given moment. Its AI machine learning system helps students track their progress to see where they could benefit from live instruction.

Birthright Israel is launching Brightcode - a free, six-month, 40-hours-a-week, in-depth programming training course, worth $15,000, for eligible Jewish adults aged 18 to 32. It is followed by two-years paid work experience in Israel with a high-tech company.

Israel’s Defense Ministry reported that its laser air defense system under development successfully shot down drones, rockets, mortars, and anti-tank missiles in its latest trials. Iron Beam is “effective, accurate, easy-to-operate” and significantly cheaper than current protective measures.

Israel’s SoSense aims to save lives and prevent harm to swimmers, especially children, in private and public pools. SOSense’s FLOW constantly “listens” to underwater pool sounds, learning each pool’s unique environmental noises (e.g. pumps) in order to filter out those sounds for better human detection.

Researchers from four of Israel’s leading universities have developed a process to preserve coral reefs. It involves taking thousands of photos, collecting genetic data, generating a 3D model, and printing a ceramic reef. The lifelike model attracts fish and corals to re-generate the natural reef.

Israel’s SimpliiGood (see previously) has partnered International food conglomerate IFF to develop the first commercial smoked salmon analog made entirely from a single ingredient: whole fresh spirulina - a high-protein sustainable algae “superfood”, grown in Israel’s Negev desert.