Good News Israel presents solving world hunger with grasshoppers; eco-friendly pesticide and much more.
By: Michael Ordman
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
AVG launches R&D center in Israel
Online security company AVG is establishing its global Center of Excellence for mobile technology in Tel Aviv. AVG previously bought Israel’s DroidSecurity which developed AVG’s AntiVirus for Android with over 100 million downloads.
http://investors.avg.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=250967&p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2059570
Snap it, find it, and buy it
The on-line shoe business is worth $10 billion per year and Israel’s SnapGet’s Android or iOS app makes it even better for customers. Just take a photo of a shoe that you want to buy and SnapGet will search 50,000 styles and 18,000 merchants to find it (or something very similar) at the best price.
http://www.israel21c.org/headlines/your-favorite-new-shoe-in-a-click/
Ensuring the purity of our drinking water
Israel’s national water company Mekorot is implementing remote water monitoring kits from Israeli startup Ayyeka. The kits work with all types of sensor to measure the level of chlorine and turbidity (murkiness). Mekorot plans to roll out the kits throughout Israel.
http://israelnewtech.com/2015/07/ayyeka-makes-water-monitoring-simple-and-secure/
http://ayyeka.com/kits/water-quality/chlorine-monitoring-kit/
Iron dome tech to maintain New York power supply
Israel’s mPrest will use a $900,000 grant from the Israel-US Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation to change its missile-deflecting technology so it can detect malfunctioning power transformers operated by the New York Power Authority.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/new-york-to-use-israeli-iron-dome-tech-to-keep-power-flowing/
Solving world hunger with – grasshoppers
Israeli startup Steak Tzar Tzar (Hebrew for “cricket”) is farming grasshoppers to solve the world’s protein shortage. The insect is 70% protein and marketable to at least the 2.5 billion people who already consume insects. And they are even kosher – to the traditions of Yemenite Jews.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bugs-could-be-answer-to-food-crisis-israeli-start-up-says/
A smart helmet for formula racing
The entry of Israel’s Technion for the 2015 Formula SAE competition in Italy in September features a helmet with a head-up display, so the driver can read the car’s systems while keeping eyes on the road. The car has also been vastly improved. The students won prizes in 2013 and 2014.
http://pard.technion.ac.il/2015/07/05/5313/
Technobrain 2015
Watch the students of Israel’s Technion compete to race elastic-band powered boats (built in advance) to travel eight meters, anchor by means of a magnet, and fire a jet of water into a funnel from a distance of three meters – all this is in the shortest possible time and with smallest number of rubber bands.
http://pard.technion.ac.il/2015/06/21/dr-bobs-technobrain-competition-2015/
Eco-friendly pesticide for nematodes
Israel’s Adama has received Israeli approval to market NIMITZ, a novel, non-fumigant nematicide with unprecedented user safety and simplified application features. The innovative product controls nematodes, one of the most destructive and problematic pests in agriculture.
http://www.adama.com/en/media/press-releases/adama_secures_israeli_regulatory_approval_for_nimitz.html
Gett updates app for blind passengers
Israel’s Gett, the black cab app, has made its smartphone app more accessible to visually-impaired passengers. 17-year-old Israeli developer Adi Kushnir, who has been blind since birth, worked with Gett to integrate Apple’s “VoiceOver” and Google’s “TalkBack”.
http://www.ibtimes.com/gett-updates-app-blind-passengers-voiceover-talkback-technology-2009309
A driverless car on Israel’s roads!
The Bloomberg reporter takes off his shoes and puts his feet on the dashboard as he takes a car fitted with Israel’s MobileEye on Route 1 – Israel’s busiest highway.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-15/mobileye-offers-alternative-route-to-google-s-driverless-future
Click here for all of this week’s Good News from Israel.