See the desert bloom
At the Vidor Family Visitors’ Center in Israel’s Arava, visitors receive an interactive learning experience about desertification, flora and fauna, and the development of communities and agriculture in the region. The Arava was originally a desert but is now the jewel in the crown of Israeli agriculture.
It’s bigger on the inside
Raanan Stern has turned space management into an art form with this tiny artist studio in the heart of Tel Aviv. The modular design allows the artist to shift furniture around, open drawers or even remove them, depending on the activity. A folding bed is built into the back of the study door.
Israeli start-up reinvents the wheel
A comfortable ride is guaranteed, now that Tel Aviv’s SoftWheel has put “selective suspension” inside the wheel. When a wheelchair, bicycle or aircraft encounters an obstacle, he wheel’s hub extends or shrinks symmetrically as needed, dramatically reducing the shock transmitted.
Apple to open R&D Centre in Israel
Apple Inc. has decided to open a development center in Israel focusing on semiconductors. It will be Apple’s first and only R&D centre outside its California headquarters. It is a major change in strategy and signals the US giant’s confidence in Israel’s hi-tech skills.
Building India’s National R&D Solar Center
Israel’s Ener-t beat out billion-dollar companies to win the contract for the National Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Center in Rajasthan, India. Ener-t uses ultra efficient next generation CSP Parabolic Trough technology and is already building a 50 MW power plant in Rajasthan.
50% more usage
The power-extending products from Israel’s Lucidlogix Solutions can now extend battery life of smartphones and tablets by 50 percent. GameXtend, WebXtend and NavXtend are targeted at Android device manufacturers who want to reduce the power drain from high-performance hardware and software.
The “Waze” of agriculture
(Thanks to Israel21c) Israel’s ScanTask has developed AgriTask, to help farmers make decisions on planting, harvesting and the use of pesticides. Its algorithms utilize weather reports, GIS data, information about agriculture from local governments and crowdsourcing data from individual farms.
Tel Aviv incubator develops Google Glass apps
Israeli lawyer Alexandra Gambrian is running a hi-tech incubator in Tel Aviv for eight developers, building applications that use Google Glass. Google’s new glasses are in trial mode and include a small screen, speaker and touch surface for an enhanced user experience.
Dialysis for Cities
(Thanks to Israel21c) At Tel Aviv’s recent WATEC water technology conference, the JNF showcased its expertise and exportable knowledge in water for countries experiencing similar conditions as Israel. Rain flows, water stress, and how to make non-arable land better suited for agriculture.
Seven startups in 3 days
35 students from 15 different faculties participated in a 3-day workshop at Israel’s Technion to generate an innovative business start-up. Seven new start-ups were developed, of which two advanced to compete in Israel’s Biztec Entrepreneurship Challenge competition.