Israel Active

As one Israeli datacenter accelerator (Mellanox) exits for $6.9 billion, one more appears. Israel’s Lightbits has developed software that can be installed on existing servers to connect flash storage with applications at high speed. Lightbits just raised $50 million of funds from Dell, Cisco and others.

I reported previously that there were six Israeli companies on Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies (MIC) for 2019. There is now a seventh – Wisdo is a self-care platform that provides users with wisdom from those with similar experiences.

I reported previously that the radiation protection vest from Israel’s StemRad will be tested on NASA’s first Orion deep space mission.  The date for that has now been set for June 2020 and its destination will be the moon.

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem has unveiled 110 Einstein manuscript pages from a private collection - most on display for the first time. They include a hand-written appendix to Einstein’s Unified Theory, previously thought lost, and join the HUJ’s 80,000 item Einstein archive.

Israel’s Tevel Aerobotics has developed an autonomous drone equipped with a mechanical claw that can pick fruit or prune trees. It uses artificial intelligence to detect fruit quality and ripeness. The prototype is for apples and oranges but is being expanded to other fruits and to function at night.  

On 19th March, the engines of Israel’s Beresheet spacecraft fired it into a 405.000 km maximum Earth orbit which will take it to within range of the Moon.  Next event hopefully will be lunar capture on or around 4th Apr for a moon landing on 11th / 12th Apr. (see also on )  

Security improvements will reduce delays for tourists at Ben Gurion Airport in time for Eurovision. Delegations can be pre-registered. Facial recognition will speed up passengers with biometric passports. And machines will (initially) ask “did you pack your own baggage?”.

Israel’s Rail Vision has developed revolutionary technology that prevents accidents involving trains by ensuring they have an adequate stopping time. Rail Vision’s thermal sensor can identify hazards up to two miles away. Rail Vision has just raised $10 million.

Tel Aviv is testing new “zombie” traffic lights, designed to alert pedestrians too absorbed on their smartphone to look up at the signals. Bright LED light strips set into the sidewalks at one Tel Aviv road junction will turn red or green in sync with the traffic lights. (See this very “appropriate” cartoon or )

I reported previously on the vehicle cyber security systems from Israel’s ERM Advanced Telematics. ERM has now launched eVoice for fleet managers to warn their drivers of safety violations. eVoice will issue a real-time audio alert if a driver performs a dangerous maneuver.