Israeli ‘Lock Alert’ Won IFSEC Innovation Award

17 05 2012

Photo by MutlitLock

A new alert system developed by Israel’s MultiLock and Starcom Systems aims to tattletale on thieves – literally.

The WatchLock – a lock enforced with special GPS and cellular chips – allows owners to track its location anywhere in the world, and send them a text message should anyone try to pry it open.

The system is the first of its kind in the world and won the Physical Security Product of the Year at the IFSEC 2012 innovation awards. Held in the UK in mid May, IFSEC is the largest annual security event in Britain and one of the most prestigious in the world.

WatchLock looks like a slightly oversized version of a standard lock, but its unique system sends out its location at any given time.

The system keeps a log of every time the lock is opened and should anything but its key be used, it alerts the owner by SMS or email immediately.

The locator system is not power-dependent, making it ideal for securing remote locations or moving objects, such as trucks or containers.

Source: here


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Invention: Paper Made From Sewage

21 03 2012

For decades we have been using notebooks said to be produced from “woodless paper”. A new Israeli invention is making it possible to produce “scentless paper” – from drain water.

Dr. Refael Aharon of Applied CleanTech has developed a system capable of turning stinking sewage into a renewable and profitable source of energy. How?

About 99.9% of the drainage which comes out of our homes and flows through pipes is water. The remaining 10% are comprised of solid substances which can be used for the production of cellulose, which is used to produce paper.

Turning toilet paper into writing paper

These substances include food leftovers, used toilet paper and fiber from clothes which flow into the sewage with the laundry water.

So far, these solid substances have been a difficult and expensive nuisance. The process of cleaning the large amounts of processed waste remaining after the wastewater filtration require a lot of money, which pushes up our water tariffs.

Aharon says the process he developed reduces half of the solid substances in the sewage. As a result, the factory needs less electricity and chemicals to purify water – and the money saved may eventually reduce our water bills.

Purifying waste

So how does one turn drain water into paper? After the solid substances are filtered and separated from the wastewater, they undergo a drying and purification process to remove bacteria.

The remaining substance, which includes large amounts of cellulose, can be sold to paper manufacturers. Thanks to the system, which has already been installed in one of the sewage purification facilities in southern Israel, paper has already been produced at much lower costs than regular recycled paper.

Source


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Israeli Technology Turns Air Into Drinking Water

1 03 2012

"We must develop water generation equipment from nontraditional sources, including... atmospheric humidity." US Army Regulation 700-136, Washington DC, June 2009

Military troops around the world, no matter where they are instated, know that even with the best training, personnel and arms, they cannot survive battle if they are lacking one vital thing: water. Among the concerns of military heads is  to ensure water sources are always available, even in the most arid of places.

One Israeli company took up the challenge to ensure water can be readily available, anywhere and at any time, by extracting it from the most common of things: air.

Initially, the system filters the air so that water can be extracted and accommodated in containers. Then, it is cooled and purified into drinking water. This water can be served from a tap within the system or inside the cabin.

Chairmen and co-CEO, Arye Kohavi, says that “water transportation is one of the most common reasons for the departure of convoys across Afghanistan. These convoys are attacked and have casualties.” He adds that “if we can produce the water at the exact point where it is consumed, we spare the need to transport water and reduce the risk and expenses.”

According to the Water-Gen, the device, which can be fitted onto vehicles, produces 10-20 gallons of pure drinking water a day, even in harsh weather and field conditions. The system, which is operated by solar or electric energy, is designed to meet military needs and standards, the company adds.

Water-Gen Video

Eventually, Water-Gen hopes the technology can be implemented not just in the military, but in water-scarce regions around the world too. The United States, India, The UK, Spain and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) have already shown interest in the company’s products.

For further reading please click here

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Technology To Save Cities Water And Money

9 02 2012

According to  the Israeli startup Stream Control, 40 percent of the water available to us is lost every year, primarily because of leaks. This “non-revenue” water costs 14 billion dollars per year in utilities worldwide, the company says.

Stream Control’s solution is called Aqua-Guard,  an electronic controller device that can minimize leakages caused by excessive pressure in water distribution pipes. It does so by dynamically adjusting the pressure applied to the pipeline network, in accordance with the actual demand for water.

CEO of  Stream Control, Shlomo Avitbul, says: “We save water but also money. The return on the investment is quick. Money spent on incorporating our technology will be regained within six to twelve months.”

Stream Control’s unit does not use electricity, but batteries. “The battery lasts three years and the system doesn’t use a lot of energy,” says Avitbul.
“The unit can be installed on existing hydraulic valve, and fits nearly all models available.” He adds that Stream Control provides real-time date reports of abnormal leaks.
Aqua-Guard was implemented in the Jerusalem Municipality and resulted in a reduction of 30 percent in water leaks. Other Israeli cities using the system are Tiberias and Rehovot. And the company is currently launching a pilot project in Brazil and possibly Mexico.

Video

Source: here


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Did You Know?…

12 01 2012

 

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As a country, Israel is defined by its collective successes and what follows is but a small sampling of that:

• Ten Israelis have won the Nobel Prize so far.

• Israel is a leader in quality of life. In a comparison conducted by the UN regarding quality of life in 182 countries, Israel ranked 27th, only slightly lower than the UK.

• Israel’s healthcare system is one of the most advanced in the world.

• Israel is a leader in biotechnology development.

• Israeli medical developments are used in the best operating rooms across the world.

• Israeli cows produce the largest amount and highest quality of milk in the world.

• Israel is the only country that entered the 21st century with a net gain in its number of trees.

• Israel is one of the world’s top leaders in agricultural development and fruit cloning.

• A quarter of the population holds a degree – ranking third in the world.

• Israel produces more scientific papers and more patents per capita than any other country.

• Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant- absorbing nation, has more museums per capita and receives more media coverage than any other country in the world.

• Israel has sent emergency delegations around the world to assist foreign governments in times of major disaster including but not limited to Cambodia, Rwanda, Turkey, Argentina, Armenia, Russia, Kenya, New Orleans, Haiti, Japan, Indonesia and Thailand.

• The IDF was the first major medical team to set up camp immediately following the devastating earthquake in Haiti.

• The World Economic Forum has recognized Israel as one of the leading countries in the world in technological innovation.

• The cell phone, disk on key, instant messenger chat, voicemail technology and PillCam were all developed in Israel. The Pentium4 processor was designed and developed in Israel as well.

• Microsoft and Cisco built their largest R&D centers in Israel.

• Apple chose Israel as its first and only R&D center outside the US.

• Israel has the world’s highest percentage of engineers and scientists.

• Israel is a leader in genetics and preventive medicine.

• Israel sends hundreds of missions to developing countries worldwide.

• Israeli agricultural experts introduced drip-irrigation technology, saving water in arid regions.

• An Israeli company recently discovered a way to eradicate the use of pesticides for pest control by using edible oil instead.

• A simple, inexpensive Israeli solution for storing staples is helping Africans, South Americans and Asians survive food shortages.

• Except for the US and Canada, Israel has the most traded companies on Wall Street than any other country.

• Israel is a leader in coexistence programs that bring together Arabs and Jews.

• Israel has an incredible array of institutions that focus on charitable outreach and offering help to the needy.

• Israel is unique in terms of its size, location and diversity of climate and wildlife.

• Jerusalem’s Biblical Zoo is involved in worldwide breeding efforts and to reintroduce animals to their natural habitats.

• Israel is the only place where biblical history really comes alive.

• While far from perfect, the Knesset is an anomaly in the Middle East. Its makeup of Arabs and Jews, Secular and Orthodox and men and women makes Israel a unique liberal democracy – in fact the only one in the Middle East.

• Israel’s military prowess and might is world renowned. It is a leading force in battlefield technology, counterterrorism, combat skills, intelligence gathering and air superiority. The Mossad is likely the world’s top intelligence agency, unsurpassed in its ability to gather information from around the globe.

For all these reasons and more, it is important to recognize and appreciate that with all its problems, Israel is a great country.

Thank you Jpost for the article.


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Will Apple Ride the Israel Tech Bus Along with Google, Microsoft and Intel?

29 12 2011

According to recent reports and rumors fueled by a visit from a top Apple executive,  Apple is planning to open a research and development center in Israel. This would be Apple’s first and only R&D facility outside California.

Apple would be joining dozens of other leading tech companies that have established large development centers in Israel. Google has two. Microsoft has some 1,000 Israelis working at several R&D centers, while Intel has developed some of  their most advanced processors, in whole or part, at their Israeli branches. And other tech giants, including Cisco, Motorola and IBM, have been taking advantage of the “Israeli mind” for decades.

So what would Apple be seeking in Israel that it can’t get in Cupertino? Apple hasn’t publicly commented on the rumors, but observers have noted that Apple has not been a big spender on R&D in the past dedicating only about two percent of its total annual sales to researching new technology, considered a very small percentage in the tech world.

With the competition ramping up from Google, Amazon, Samsung, Microsoft and others in the software and hardware space, Apple may be taking a preventative step, looking at new technologies while it still dominates in the phone and tablet market. Now that guru Steve Jobs has left the stage, Apple’s leadership may see research as its ticket to future products, as opposed to the inspiration Jobs supplied when he imagined and created devices like the iPod and the iPhone.

For further reading please click here.


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Cornell University and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa Win a Contest to Build an Engineering Campus in NYC

22 12 2011

Rendering Courtesy of Cornell University

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, Cornell University President David J. Skorton, and Technion-Israel Institute of Technology President Peretz Lavie  announced an historic partnership to build a two-million-square-foot applied science and engineering campus on Roosevelt Island in New York City.  The selection of the Cornell/Technion consortium -  which pairs two of the world’s top institutions in the fields of science, engineering, technology and research – marks a major milestone in the City’s groundbreaking Applied Sciences NYC initiative, which seeks to increase New York City’s capacity for applied sciences and dramatically transform the City’s economy.

“Thanks to this outstanding partnership and groundbreaking proposal from Cornell and the Technion, New York City’s goal of becoming the global leader in technological innovation is now within sight,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “By adding a new state-of-the-art institution to our landscape, we will educate tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and create the jobs of the future. This partnership has so much promise because we share the same goal: to make New York City home to the world’s most talented workforce.”

“Cornell University and our extraordinary partner, The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, are deeply gratified to have the opportunity to realize Mayor Bloomberg’s vision for New York City: to prepare tomorrow’s expanding talent pool of tech leaders and entrepreneurs to work with the city’s key industries in growing tomorrow’s innovation ecosystem,” said Cornell President Skorton. “Starting today, we are going to put our plan to work, tapping into our extensive connections throughout the city and build a truly 21st Century campus to fuel the creation of new businesses and new industries throughout the city for decades to come.”

“Our pride and our hopes for the future are shared by the whole Technion community of students, faculty, friends and supporters, including the very successful American Technion Society,” said the Technion President Lavie. “Together, we have the means, ingenuity and willpower to make our world a better place by joining with Cornell University and the great people of  New York City for this innovative new center of learning and enterprise.”

“Cornell and the Technion are each well-established global leaders in the fields of science and engineering, as well as entrepreneurship,” said Charles Vest, President of the National Academy of Engineering, and President Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “This newly formed partnership marks an important moment for New York City, its economy, and the future of innovation and higher education in this country.”

Source: Technion.ac.il


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Tasty Fish Oil?

3 11 2011

Nothing fishy lurking here – just unusually healthful candy

Omega 3 supplements provide one of the “good” fatty acids nutritionists say can help prevent heart disease and arthritis, while playing an essential role in healthy brain development and growth.

But there are a few problems with most Omega 3 capsules. First of all, they smell like fish. Because the supplement is derived from cold-water fish, it’s not uncommon to taste fishy burps throughout the day after ingesting the oil capsule, roughly the size of an earplug. The capsules are hard for children to swallow and completely unsuitable for vegans.

While there are alternative Omega 3 oils on health-food store shelves, a new tasteless and odorless vegetarian variety from Israeli food supplement company LycoRed is designed to be used in baked goods and candies because it is able to survive heating. The company has completed successful trials of its supplement in chocolates, crackers and bread.

LycoRed, whose main business is natural nutritional supplements and colorants, launched the new algae-derived Lyc-O-Mega 10 AL late last year and it is now available worldwide.

Dr. Dorit Rozner, R&D manager at LycoRed: “The advantages of Omega 3 to our health are well known, but most of us are challenged to get enough in our diets, especially for children, for whom taking capsules is difficult.”

“As adding Omega 3 directly to foods normally within our diets results in ‘fishy’ tasting products, we saw an opportunity to utilize our unique microencapsulation technology,” says Rozner. “The resulting product, Lyc-O-Mega 10 AL, allows the confectionery and bakery industry to create great-tasting products and deliver on DHA.”

LycoRed has production facilities in Israel, Europe and the United States, and it supplies the food, beverage and cosmetics industries worldwide. The company also produces a food supplement extracted from tomatoes, LycoMato, which is believed to prevent the effects of sun damage from within the body by fighting free radicals before they do damage.

For further reading please click here.


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A Welcome Scoop for Dog Owners

18 10 2011

The prototype AshPoopie, targeted for retail in 2012

If you have a dog, then you know that no matter how fancy a pooper-scooper you’ve got, after Rover’s walk you are still left with a messy, smelly nuisance that pollutes the environment with sewage and plastic bags.

One Israeli who got fined for failing to pick up the droppings decided to contact Prof. Oded Shoseyov of the Hebrew University, a renowned biotech inventor, for a better solution. And Shoseyov rose to the challenge.

His novel idea is AshPoopie, a pooper-scooper with a critical difference: After it gathers the droppings, it turns them into odorless, sterile ash within seconds. All the dog-walker has to do is push a button to release an activation capsule from the cartridge inside the unit.

Recently, AshPoopie earned patents in Europe and the United States. Ramat Gan-based Paulee CleanTec, the company founded to develop this and related products, is working with engineers to finalize the design ahead of a 2012 US launch.

Apparently, American retailers can’t wait to start stocking the product. “Where have you been all this time?” was the reaction most often heard by executives of the privately funded company when they introduced AshPoopie in September at SuperZoo 2011, the major US pet products exhibition in Las Vegas.

The easy-to-carry device contains special tablets that drop into the collection chamber via a button. Within 10 seconds, the feces is transformed into a small amount of odorless sterile ash that can be deposited harmlessly anywhere, even on plants. Shoseyov, who also owns a winery, is the brains behind this and about 15 other patented inventions.

For further reading please click here.


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Israeli Pump Technology Uses Air To Heat Water Instantly

9 09 2011

The heat pump

Phoebus Energy, an Israeli startup, has come up with an innovative technology to heat water, by using air. Hydra is an intelligent heat pump that delivers energy to heat water in large complexes such as hospitals and hotels that need enough energy to sustain hot water in all rooms, pools etc.

Hydra technology absorbs the energy from the air turning it from thermal to kinetic energy. On its own, the traditional methods to heat water, such as gas and heating oil are costly and polluting. Phoebus Energy’s system works as a hybrid; connecting its network of  heat pumps with the traditional systems, creating a broad infrastructure to heat large quantities of water.

While using the heat in the air for energy is not new, Phoebus Energy’s innovation lies in their sensors that are installed in the pumps to measure everything from the heat and humidity in the air outside to the flow of water and price of fuel and electricity.  The system then calculates which energy sources should be activated at any given time for the most cost-effective results.

The installation and the maintenance of the system is free. Phoebus Energy takes a percentage of the client’s cost reduction as a result of using Hydra. Clients then get access to the Phoebus’s website to retrieve all the personalized data information.

There are already 35 sites using the Phoebus system in Israel, including the Mandarin Hotel in Tel Aviv and Hotel Inbal in Jerusalem. There are also  several sites using Hydra in Greece. On average, says Phoebus Energy, these sites have saved 40 to 70 percent of costs to heat water.

Thank you Nocamels for the story


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