Israel Active

Scientists at Israel’s Weizmann Institute are improving global food security e.g. by figuring out how plants can better resist drought and provide higher-quality nutrition. They have also devised a method of killing a parasitic weed that was destroying corn crops in sub-Saharan Africa.

Israel’s Photomyne won the Top 100 award at the Red Herring Top 100 Europe conference.  Photomyne aims to use its photo scanning app, with Machine Learning / AI technology, to produce the largest indexed photo collection of the pre-digital era.

Scientists at Ben-Gurion University have devised simple interventions at desert borders to reverse the process threatening to turn vast areas of the US, Spain and China into desert. Such activities include introducing new plant species or periodic clear cutting to reduce the competition for water.

Israel’s mPrest developed the command-and-control software inside Israel’s Iron Dome missile-defense system. Its Major Event Management Application (MEMA) forecasts the extent, location and progress of damage from natural disasters via a similar network of sensors and systems.

I reported previously the 3D meal-printing ovens from Israel’s Genie were a year away from production. Genie now has two production lines in Israel and a third in Chicago, able to produce 30 million meal capsules a year. Genie is now begun marketing in the U.S. and Australia.

Israel’s Mintigo develops an online predictive analytics platform designed to identify the items a specific customer is most likely to buy. It scours the web for over 20,000 insights and buying signals. Mintigo has just raised $7 million to add to the $44 million already raised.

Israel’s OurCrowd is partnering Australian pet store operator PETstock to set up Israel’s first innovation hub focused on health technologies for pets.  Pet Health Innovation Labs (PHIL) is for startups using AI to develop treatments, and apps for nutrition and exercise regimens.

I reported previously on the school backpack from Israel’s Masada-Armour that transforms into a bulletproof vest in under two seconds. Here is an alternative – the backpack from Israel’s ArmorMe comes with bulletproof kevlar panels on one or two sides.

Tel Aviv University Professor Yasmin Meroz is leading the Israeli team in a European-funded consortium to develop robots that can negotiate uneven environments. Instead of legs or wheels, these robots will climb like ivy. Uses include collapsed buildings, archaeological digs or even on Mars.

Israel’s Evogene has set up a new agricultural biology subsidiary - LaVie Bio. It will focus on the fields of food quality and agricultural sustainability and productivity, through the introduction of microbiome-based ag-biological products.