Top Nine is number one
Top Nine is the most popular Instagram app in the US and UK. It gives Instagram users a three-by-three grid collage of their most popular posts. It was developed by Kevin Natanzon, founder of Beta Labs, who attributes his Aliya, and the Israeli startup ecosystem, as the reason Top Nine went viral.
Autonomous taxis in South Korea
Israel-based Mobileye will test and deploy robot taxis powered by its autonomous vehicle technology in Daegu, South Korea. Rollout is planned by 2022. Mobileye has already announced its plans to have hundreds of autonomous taxis operating in Tel Aviv’s streets, also by 2022.
App helps visually impaired avoid obstacles
Students at Israel’s Technion Institute have been awarded the IEEE International Student Projects Award for an app to increase the safety of visually impaired individuals. The “Bionic Eye” app sends vibrations to the belt of the user to help negotiate stairways and other obstacles.
Record number of Israeli startups at CES 2020
This newsletter reported last week that three dozen Israeli startups exhibited at CES 2020 Las Vegas. It has now been reported that there were far more. 70 Israeli startups presented their technologies, just in the area of transportation, smart cities, and logistics.
Turning garbage into energy
One of the recipients of the latest joint US-Israel BIRD foundation grant is Israel’s Exency. Together with US Brayton Energy they are developing “a low-cost and high-efficiency solid biomass and solid waste fueled electricity generation system” in the Israeli town of Sderot.
Enjoy the ride
At CES 2020 Israel’s Mobileye released this video of a ride through Jerusalem’s busy streets in an autonomous car controlled by Mobileye’s 12-camera sensor suite. It negotiates road works, unprotected left turns, busy roundabouts, pedestrian crossings and some very heavy traffic. And it doesn’t put a foot wrong.
A PA for the blind and deaf
At CES 2020, Israel’s OrCam launched an upgraded MyEye 2 with AI and voice commands. It has become a wearable Personal Assistant for the visually disabled. OrCam also won the show’s “Best Innovation” award for OrCam Hear, for the hard-of-hearing to follow a conversation in a noisy room.
Watergen wins major award at CES
Israel’s Watergen, the company that turns air into drinking water, was named Energy Efficiency Product of the Year at the 2020 Smart Home Mark of Excellence Awards at CES Las Vegas. Each year, the Consumer Technology Association’s awards recognize the top smart home innovations.
Israeli innovations at world’s largest technology fair
Three dozen Israeli startups exhibited at CES 2020 in Las Vegas (Jan 7 – 10) It is the world’s biggest technology fair with 175,000 attendees. There were 22 startups in the Israeli pavilion. El Al even added an extra flight to arrive on the morning of the first day. It was sold out.
A decade of Israeli innovation
One of many articles highlighting the major technologies and inventions of the past 10 years. Waze, Moovit, Watergen, MarginProbe, Iron Dome, ReWalk, OrCam, 3D-printed heart, NanoGhost, DayTwo and SpaceIL’s Beresheet. All featured previously in this newsletter