Israel Active

Israel’s Gilat Satellite Networks reported that its satellite platform has been selected by NBN and Speedcast to provide broadband services to businesses and government customers across Australia, especially remote areas. The deal is worth tens of millions of dollars spread over several years.

Israel is installing a tsunami warning system along its Western coast at Ashdod, Hadera and Haifa. It is also installing a 120-sensor earthquake early-warning system in the East, adjacent to the Great Rift Valley.  Both systems are expected to be operational by 2019.

Tel Aviv University has launched a new space exploration center focused on constructing 4-inch cube-sized satellites. A team of engineers will build the “CubeSats” in collaboration with university researchers. Costs are around $500k each compared to tens of millions for the current large satellites.

A specialized structure simulating the Red Planet Mars’s unique environment is currently being built near Mitzpe Ramon in Israel’s Negev desert. Six Israeli astronauts will experience Martian conditions, communicating to the Rehovot control center via Israel’s AMOS 7 satellite.

I’ve reported previously about Israeli help for dyslexics. Now Israeli startup Wizcomtech has developed a reading pen that scans text and breaks words down into syllables using a digital voice. It then gives synonyms for the words to aid understanding and remembering.

Israeli startup Hoopo has developed a geolocation estimation algorithm as an alternative to GPS. It uses low-power wide-area (LPWA) network data transmissions to generate a precise location. Hoopo has just received $1.5 million of funding.

A short video showing just some of the technological innovations with which Israel is changing the world.

I reported previously about four Israeli startups providing indoor GPS-like location services. Now Israel’s Oriient provides visitors to megastores, malls, offices, hospitals and universities with better accessibility. No additional hardware needs to be installed.

Israel’s CyberTech conference (29-31 Jan) is the most significant gathering in the industry outside the United States. The 3-day event brought 15,000 attendees, 170 speakers and 120 companies to discuss challenges facing the cyber industry.

Israel's Plant Production and Marketing Board (PPMB) has announced the launch of Orri Jaffa, an easy peeler mandarin, fully protected using biological controls. To repel Mediterranean fruit flies (Medflies) Orri Jaffa farmers use natural baits and sterile insects to reduce fly populations.