Israel Active

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.

On a perfectly cloudless Saturday afternoon on 19th March, solar energy was producing 13.4 percent of Israel’s total electricity consumption, breaking the country’s solar power record.

Two Israeli companies have partnered to provide technology to alert motor racing drivers to hazards on the circuit. Vehicle-to-everything chipset maker Autotalks and race car manufacturer Griiip showcased their system at the new motorsport park in Be'er Sheva, Southern Israel.

Missouri scientists have used software from Israel’s NRGene to map the genomes of two important soybean varieties. The information can help scientists increase their oil and protein content using traditional breeding methods.

Telsa CEO Elon Musk visited Israel and posted several photos of himself including one at Masada. The caption was “Paid respects to Masada earlier today. Live free or die.” Earlier he met PM Netanyahu. He praised Israel as a ‘technological power’ and said the Negev could provide the country with all its energy needs.

Israeli researchers at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem have developed a proof of concept that would enable computers to run 100 times faster using terahertz microchips. The technology integrates speed-of-light optics communications with flash memory.