Israel Active

I reported previously on AgriTask – an app from Israel’s Scantask that improves farming efficiency. AgriTask is now protecting about 1,000 farmers in Israel, Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Kenya and Thailand from crop damage and saving them up to 40% in pesticide use.

Israel’s International Cooperation Ministry has established and dedicated a new NIS 4 million Dead Sea Research Institute.  Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian Authority scientists will work together at the Institute, to study the Dead Sea and find ways to rehabilitate it and the region around it.

As predicted previously the Sino-Israeli Robotics Institute was inaugurated during the second Sino-Israeli Robotics Summit in Guangzhou, China. The 4,800sqm robotics incubator includes exhibition and demo area, innovation lab, training center and corporate offices.

The US-Israel Advanced Research Partnership Act of 2016 has been signed into US law.  The act will expand existing joint research and create a grant for new development.

Israeli startup GearEye uses a radio frequency ID (RFID) scanner, tags, and an app to locate your important belongings.  GearEye sought to raise $60,000 on Kickstarter.  It ended up with over $500,000.  

I’ve reported previously about the Air Mule flying car from Israel’s Urban Aeronautics (also known as Tactical Robotics). Here is the latest on the Unmanned Air Vehicle – now renamed the Cormorant. Its target for launching on the aviation market is now 2020.

Here is the latest report on the progress of the Ashalim project – building the world’s tallest solar tower, deep in the Negev desert . When complete in 2018 it will generate 310 megawatts of power - enough for 130,000 households, or roughly 5% of Israel’s population.

Israel’s Laser Detect System (LDS) has developed the SpectroDrone that can identify explosives and other hazardous materials from several meters away. The system uses a multi-wavelength laser, range-finder, high resolution camera and an algorithm and can be placed on a UAV, robot or vehicle.

Israel’s Elbit Systems presented its new Emergency Scenarios Virtual Reality (VR) Trainer for emergency response teams at the Homeland Security and Cyber Conference in Tel Aviv. It also unveiled GroundEye, which provides data and high resolution imagery for crises monitoring.

Professor (Emeritus) David Faiman of Ben Gurion University has been given the David Ben Gurion award for his life’s work researching and promoting renewable energy.  The prize is awarded to those whose “actions fulfill David Ben-Gurion’s vision and follow his legacy.”