Israel Active

Samsung's new center in Ramat Gan will focus on Israeli startup companies, Israeli research academia and venture capital funds investing in start-ups. The new center will be part of Global Samsung, through which the company will expand its activity in Israel.

(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.

Each year, the world dumps 800,000 aging maritime shipping containers. Israel is building the first ever bridge from recycled containers, to link the Ariel Sharon Environment Park at Hiriya with the main thoroughfare leading to Tel Aviv. The bridge even has solar-powered lighting.

A 16-year study by Professor David Weisburd of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Institute of Criminology has shown that 50% of city crime occurs in 5% of the streets. Traditional crime fighting focuses on the criminals but Stockholm Prize-winner Weisburd has changed perceptions.

At CleanTech 2013 Energy and Water Minister Uzi Landau said, “Israel is emerging from times of crisis in the area of water into stability. We have not only continued what has started in the past to develop desalination plants, but we are now building new and we have extending and developed those that already exist.”