Israel Active

Deep Junior, a program written by Israelis Amir Ban and Shay Bushinsky, and running on a Dual 12 core Intel Xenon I5 2.7 GHz computer, won the World Computer Chess Championship in Yokohama, Japan. Junior has now won six of the last eleven tournaments.

Technion Professor Uri Shavit and his team are conducting research that will contribute to helping secure the world's coral reefs. Using a Particle Image Velocimeter (PIV) laboratory, they measure flows in Eilat - one of the few places in the world where this research can be carried out.

(Thanks to Israel21c) Following the Carmel forest fires last year, Israel’s Ministry of Public Security used theoretical models and live feeds to develop the Matash Fire Forecasting System - the first operational system of its kind in the world. It has already helped to control and extinguish forest fires in Israel.

Weizmann Institute scientists have managed to control the production of microscopic nano-wires. Using gallium nitride (GaN) Professor Ernesto Joselevich and his team have built a tiny microprocessor component, which makes possible a whole new world of powerful microchips.

The Israeli development center of Trax Technology Solutions has taken picture-processing technology to a new level. A supplier photographs the shelves at a store and the pictures are analyzed by Trax’s software. A report is written on the status of the goods (quantities, forecasts, and meeting agreements with the retailer), including insights on competing products.

Two Israeli companies – Evogene and Rahan Meristem (1998) have developed and successfully field-tested banana varieties that are resistant to Black Sigatoka (aka Black Leaf Streak Disease), the most damaging disease threatening commercial banana plantations. It removes the need for fungicides

(Thanks to Israel21c) 3D printing labs across Israel will spark a new age of innovation, says Roy Keidar, CEO of the Reut Institute. At Reut’s first Communal Technological Space (CTS) 3D printing lab you can wake up in the morning, sketch an invention, put it on your computer and then print it. In Reut’s XLN project, students manufacture inexpensive helpful devices for people with special needs.

(Thanks to Israel21c) Israeli outdoor events planner Ilan Elmaliach’s failed attempts to erect a tent gave him the inspiration to design a portable aerodynamic sunshade that no sea breeze can dismantle. Similar to a parachute, the Israeli-made, Otentik flows with the wind rather than fights against it.

Dr. Aviv Zohar and Dr. Ariel Procaccia, both PhD graduates of computer science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, have been named in ‘AI’s 10 to Watch‘ by IEEE Intelligent Systems magazine. The list recognizes 10 researchers who are rising stars in the field of artificial intelligence (AI)

Residents of apartments no longer need to hear the sound of sewage through their neighbors’ waste pipes. Huliot of Kibbutz Sde Nehemia makes acoustic insulated pipes from a unique plastic compound that does not pollute the environment. Six European countries have just purchased them.