Israel Active

Israel’s Moovit application for public transport information is now available in beta in the UK. Already operating in the US, Canada, and Western Europe, Moovit is the first public transport application to harness the power of the crowd, using real-time user-generated information to improve public transport trip planning and navigation.

The 2012 Munich Cleantech Conference awarded their very first MCC Venture Award to Israel’s TIGI. TIGI’s Honeycomb solar thermal collectors generate heat for space heating, domestic or industrial uses at extremely high efficiency.

(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s Scodix SENSE digital printing presses are to be sold in Belgium and Luxembourg. Using CCD cameras and 3D polymers, the system produces unique products, printed materials and packaging to the service provider and the consumer.

(Thanks to Atid-EDI) Israel’s Corephotonics develops computational cameras and tiny electro-mechanical engines to improve focusing capabilities. Corephotonics have raised $5.2 million to put the power of still cameras into smartphones.

(Thanks to Herb) Israel’s SmarTap has developed an electronic cartridge that can replace the mechanical-thermostatic unit currently used worldwide in showers. SmarTap offers a “personalized shower experience” even in case of a loss of pressure in the cold water pipe.

Yissum, the Research and Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, is introducing new chickpea varieties, which retain high nutritional values and exhibit improved synchronization between flowering and the rainy season to increase yield.

Ginger Proofreader, from Israel’s Ginger Software, understands language context well enough to make sure you’ve written what you intended to. So “Hey dude, let’s go grab a bear tonight” would be flagged as being misspelt.

Israel Technion’s Kira Radinsky and Microsoft’s Eric Horvitz have developed a program that has successfully predicted disease and violence outbreaks with 70 to 90 percent accuracy. The prototype merged two decades worth of New York Times archives and other Internet sources such as Wikipedia to make its predictions.

Even if there is no evidence for needing its protection against harmful radiation, Israel’s Tawkon mobile phone emissions warning system has several other benefits. It increases battery life; tells you when reception is poor; and it’s free. Plus, it may stop your phone from frying your brain!

Israel’s Muve is a new way to move around town. Described as a CleanTech backpack on wheels, the electric scooter eases congestion but gets you from A to B at a steady 20-25 km per hour. At $2,000 it is a third of the price of a Segway and has many more features.