Israel Active

Israel’s Nirosoft has been awarded a $100 million contract to desalinate polluted water produced as a by-product of petroleum extraction in Colombia. Previously, the wastewater was disposed of in deep wells. Now, the purified water will be used to grow trees.

Interesting article explaining the success of Israel’s bSolar. The company mass-produces bi-facial solar panels at low cost. The two-sided panels attract more sunlight than standard panels. Also, important is the b for “Boron” which is the key ingredient that improves efficiency by twenty per cent.

The G280 advanced executive jet, built jointly by Israel Aerospace Industries and Gulfstream Aerospace, has been given a certificate of airworthiness by the US Federal Aviation Administration. The G280 carries ten passengers up to 6667 km at Mach 0.8.

James Hurley’s article provides excellent insight into the challenges and strengths of Israel’s technology start-ups. Its talented ex-army entrepreneurs constantly face impossible problems, with limited resources and manage to “solve them yesterday”.

Great news, for those students who find it hard to stay awake in lectures; it is possible to sleep-learn. Weizmann researchers have proved that the wakened brain can be conditioned into responding to triggers that were given when the subject was asleep. Don’t use this, however, as a method to cram for exams.

Smart keyboard company KeyView has unveiled Smartype – a new kind of keyboard with a sophisticated built-in display. Users no longer need to split their focus between a keyboard and computer screen, helping minimize typing errors, reducing neck strain and maximize productivity.

Excellent article explaining how Israel’s Seambiotic takes the Carbon Dioxide (greenhouse gas) directly from smokestacks and uses it to feed algae for biofuel projects in Ohio and Italy and for the vitamin industry in China. It’s still early days, but shows much promise.

Watch this film clip of RoboThespian teaching a class of Israeli children how to work with weights and levers. Plus some Shakespeare verse and a song. Lessons were never like this in my time.

Israel’s PrimeSense provides the 3D sensing technology for Microsoft’s Kinect for XBox 360. PrimeSense has been selected as a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer and one of the world’s most innovative technology start-ups that can transform the future of business and society.

One week after Tel Aviv announced a new Environmental school, now Israel’s capital is to get one. Ex deputy mayor of New York, Robert Price has donated NIS 30 million to build the 2,000-square-meter facility overlooking Sacher Park on the Hebrew University campus.