Israel Active

A delegation of Israeli start-ups developing technologies to assist people with disabilities are showing their products and services in Sydney Australia. They include Paratrek, Sesame Enable, NiNiSpeech and yooocan. (I reported and previously)  

From California to Africa, there is a global water shortage. Israel - one tiny country in the middle of a desert, has found remarkable solutions. Can its success be replicated?  Businessman and New York Times bestselling author Seth Siegel explains.  

Tel Aviv municipality has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Kenya to collaborate on the $14.5 billion development of Konza - a new “techno city” in south-eastern Kenya. Kenyans will train at three Tel Aviv Global initiatives.

While global honeybee populations have declined, Israeli bees are holding steady.  Reasons include Israeli research into Colony Collapse Disorder, boosting bee immune systems, developing nectar-rich plants, Israeli Honey Board support for beekeepers, eradicating Varroa mites and planting 100,000 seedlings to give bees a varied diet.

When I reported previously on Israeli urban on-foot iPhone navigation app Sidekix, it was available in 15 cities.  Today it can be used in 60 cities in the US, UK, Europe and Israel and is growing at a rate of about five cities per month. An Android version is also planned.

Intel Israel is building what it claims will be the world’s smartest building. The 34,000-square-meter R&D center in Petach Tikva will contain thousands of smart sensors to control security, lighting, climate, recycling, parking, presentations, restaurants and coffee for 2500 employees.

Israeli scientists at Israel's Agricultural Research Organization (better known as the Volcani Institute) have identified a genetic mechanism in apricots that controls temperature sensitivity. Starting with apricots, they are now developing varieties of crops that thrive in temperatures where previously they couldn’t even grow.

Israeli marketing analytics developer Datorama provides an end-to-end marketing analytics solution for business users. Its Marketing Integration Engine uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to connect online and offline data. Datorama has just raised $32 million to fund more R&D.

I reported previously about Israel’s Sensibo which allows you to control your air-conditioning from any location.  Now it has launched Sensibo Inside that allows OEMs and distributors to turn any A/C appliance into a smart IoT (Internet of Things) device.

Israel’s Ministry of Environmental Protection has reported reductions of up to 52% in the emissions of air pollutants by 540 of the biggest enterprises in Israel between 2012-2015. The flow of pollutants into the Mediterranean also dramatically decreased between 2012-2015.