Israel Active

Israeli startup MetoMotion is developing a robotic system for labor-intensive tasks in greenhouses. The company’s robot can pick tomatoes, using 3D vision and machine vision algorithms to identify and locate ripe tomatoes. MetoMotion states that the robot can also prune and de-leaf.

Rare positive (video) article on Israeli imaging technology from the UK Financial Times. Extracts from the video – “This technology's impact is being felt in fields from medicine to self-driving cars and even shopping.” “There's one small nation at this industry's forefront, Israel.”

Israel’s National Planning and Building Commission is eliminating bureaucracy preventing artificial shade in public spaces. It estimates the cost of shading a street at around NIS 1000 per square meter – trivial, compared to the NIS 800,000 cost of one person’s treatment for skin cancer.

Israel’s Juganu has developed "Digital World" that combines smart street lighting and advanced connectivity for municipalities. It enables intelligent traffic control, security and accident monitoring, rescue coordination, support for smart cars and of course lighting and more – all without cabling.

Israeli-developed Waze has released a new carpooling feature in Israel. Drivers will now be able to invite multiple passengers to join their carpool, and if the car has at least three passengers, their route will be adjusted to include High Occupancy Vehicles (HOV) lanes.

Israeli-founded Mobileye demonstrated its new EyeQ4 camera in London. It can track and analyze masses of data including traffic lights, bus stops and even manhole covers. It can calculate rush hour traffic volumes, detect muggings and accidents. Data is uploaded to the cloud in real time.

Israel’s SpaceCom is shortly to launch its Amos 17 satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from the Kennedy Space Center. Its main aim is to improve TV, cellular and Internet services to Africa. SpaceCom already has $53 million of orders for services. The satellite will operate for up to 20 years.

At the International Physics Olympiad, held in Israel for the first time, Israelis won five medals - two gold, two silver, and a bronze. The event attracted 360 students from 78 countries, including Indonesia. Israel’s Eyal Walach won a gold for the 2nd year in a row.

Biologists and designers from Israel’s Technion and Ben Gurion University have 3D-printed bioplastic and ceramic reefs that Red Sea fish have used to make their homes. Although Israeli corals are healthy, the new man-made reefs could support the collapsing ecosystems of reefs elsewhere.

Israel’s Haredi startup Emerj develops a machine learning-based search engine that helps international corporations connect their employees with various mentors that already work for the company. Emerj has just raised $800,000 to expand its team and operations in the U.S.