A better hummus and falafel
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 corrects the spelling
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.
Predicting the future
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.
A longer life with your mobile phone
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!
A very smart Muve
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.
A bridge too far-out!
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.
Cut crime by focusing on hot spots
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.
Desalination will supply 80% of drinking water
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.”
Israel’s Navy purifies its wastewater
The Israeli Navy has installed a bio-treatment facility, which separates contamination from wastewater coming out of the diesel engines of its ships. Engine wastewater from many ships is collected into a single, large tank. A biological treatment agent is added, which cleans the water to the extent that it may be returned to the sea.
A bride’s bouquet of recycled plastic bottles
In a booth at the CleanTech exhibition hall in Tel Aviv amid colorful plastic floral arrangements and an intricate bouquet of flowers made of used book pages, Orly Rostoker was waiting for the bride who will walk down the aisle with that bouquet.