Israel Active

Israeli start-up HopOn, will allow cyclists in Tel Aviv to rent from bicycle rental service Tel-O-Fun and pay by smartphone. Users of the app will be able to unlock the bicycles at the touch of a smartphone button, with no need to physically appear at the machine or wait in line at the rental station.

Farmers at Ein Yahav have cut pesticide use by 80% thanks to the natural insect predators supplied by Israel’s “Beauty of Vegetables”.  Ein Yahav is one of the biggest vegetable exporters in Israel, producing a world record for the largest pepper and the Justin (Timberlake) melon.

Jerusalem’s new indoor Payis Arena is the largest sports, cultural, and recreational center of its kind in the Middle East.  11,600 seats, wheelchair access, Olympic-sized swimming pool, ice skating rink bowling alley and more; it will also host huge concerts and international conferences.        

Here is an Israeli innovation that I almost missed reporting.  In May, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Innovation Award for Entrepreneurship and Innovation went to Israel’s “Top-It-Up”.  Their “Top-up” spheres cover reservoirs to prevent evaporation, protect fish and maintain water quality.

Israeli start-up LOOK has launched a crowd-sourced funding campaign to help it develop a practical and effective device for finding misplaced glasses. A tiny attachment to the spectacles connects wirelessly via an app to any mobile device.  My wife would use the app several times a day.

The Micro Hornet GPS developed by Israel’s OriginGPS is only 10x10x5.8mm and weighs merely 2.5 grams.  It has the capability to be incorporated in clothing, automobiles and any valuable item that requires its location to be tracked.

For the first time in 20 years, Ramat Gan Safari has seen the birth of a female white rhino.  Once thought to be extinct, the baby rhino will now stay in Israel to hopefully become a mother to more baby rhinos.

(Thanks to NoCamels.com) Tel Aviv’s DLD Conference – part of Israel’s Innovation Week – is Israel’s largest hi-tech event with thousands of start-ups, experts, investors and delegations from 22 countries.  But that’s not all.  Check out all the other events here.

Israel's longest tunnel has been completed after 22 months of work. The tunnel forms part of the 57km (28 minutes) Jerusalem Tel Aviv rail link via Ben Gurion airport. A new station is under construction at the western entrance to Jerusalem. The entire project costs NIS 7 billion.

Ben Gurion University researchers have developed a new computer-based personality profiling methodology that can decipher the actual feelings of an individual.  When used to analyze speeches of Presidents Obama and Putin it produced some interesting assessments.