Israel Active

I reported previously on the Israel Technion’s opening of the Center for Quantum Science. Now the Helen Diller Family Foundation has donated $50 million to recruit staff, establish new infrastructure and fund research and development.

Israeli startup UBQ has patented an ecologically-friendly process to convert non-recyclable household trash from landfills into reusable plastic building material. UBQ operates a pilot production plant and research facility at Kibbutz Tzeelim on the edge of the Negev Desert.

Israel is to build two new desalination plants to add to the current five and offset the deficits of an extended five-year drought. It will also expand agricultural pipelines and rehabilitate dried-up rivers. It may also pump fresh water into the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) a vital natural source of drinking water.

I’ve reported previously (see here) on the SESAME synchrotron project that unites scientists from Israel, Jordan, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, the Palestinian Authority and others. Here is an article about the project in the Washington Post.

New York high school student Benjy Firester used disease and weather data from Israeli farmers to predict and prevent the spread of the devastating potato blight fungus. His model won the $250,000 top prize at the prestigious US Regeneron Science Talent Search.

The IVO Robot Driver, being developed by researchers at Ben-Gurion University, will fold down into a briefcase. It then can be installed onto the steering wheel and pedals of a standard car, truck, and other industrial vehicle and make it autonomous within five minutes.

Projects at the Ben Gurion University include artificial bees to pollinate flowers and robots to spray and to harvest crops. Their aim is to compensate for the shortage of bees and the lack of workers able to do hard, monotonous work in hot climates.

I reported previously about Israel’s Rootclaim that uses crowdsourcing to check the reliability of answers to questions posed on the Internet.  Now Israel’s Epistema uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to rate answers.

Israeli fashion designer Nitzan Kish has used 3D tech to create uniquely shaped clothing and jewelry with a special purpose in mind – self-defense. Her collection, Me, Myself & I, features garments that, upon any physical force, turn into spikes and look like modern body armor.

Google’s Lunar X $20 million prize competition expired on 31st March without a winner. However, Israel is still working to land its SpaceIL module on the moon this year. Of the 33 original entries, Israel was the first of 16 to announce a launch date and now only five teams remain.