While Israeli discoveries reach far and wide, the past decade marked a high number of Israeli technological milestones in an astounding variety of fields – from medicine to high-tech to space exploration. Some of those startling advancements include finding potential cures for diseases such as cancer and diabetes, and improvements in transportation by using artificial intelligence-run devices. Leaping into the unknown, Israel launched objects into orbit, such as the Amos communications satellites, and earlier this year made history as the seventh country to send a spacecraft to the Moon.
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Below is our countdown for the top five Israeli innovations of the decade:
5. Electric-powered airplane
Eviation, an Israeli startup introduced its first electric airplane, capable of flying short distances of up to 650 miles (1,050 kilometers) at around 270 mph (440 kmp). The craft, named Alice, is not only cheaper to produce, it also produces zero emissions, as it relies mainly on electricity and uses very little fuel. As the world grows greener and numerous attempts are made to reduce the human carbon footprint on the planet, this innovation is a creative endeavor by far.
Alice can transport up to nine passengers, including two pilots. It is equipped with revolving seats and even portable chargers for mobile phones. Unveiled at the Paris Air Show this past June, Alice is capable of embarking on shorter flights, such as from Israel to Cyprus or from Paris to Toulouse. Eviation expects its main customers to be American aviation companies, which can service short-haul lines within the continental US like the New York-Boston route.
4. Clean drinking water
In order to provide clean water for underdeveloped communities, Israeli startup WaterGen unveiled its GEN-M, a medium-scale atmospheric generator (AWG) that makes water out of air. The device can produce over 200 gallons (800 gallons) of clean drinking water per day. GEN-M creates water by cooling air at its natural dew point, and then filtering it, and purifying it with carbon. By using ultraviolet rays, any remaining bacteria is subsequently eliminated, making it suitable for consumption.
While the product was first presented in 2010, it has been put into service in far-reaching countries like Puerto Rico during the aftermath of Hurricane Maria in 2017, in a small village near Cúcuta, Colombia, and in various other disaster zones.
3. Mobileye, an AI device that helps drivers navigate roads safely
The company launched this invention in 2011, with the aim of assisting drivers to navigate roads and highways with more caution. The Mobileye device contains a small digital camera equipped with algorithms that are capable of predicting traffic accidents, thereby aiding drivers to travel more safely. The system can alert a driver when he or she attempts to switch lanes, by warning of a collision or sensing the presence of pedestrians in the street. The life-saving artificial intelligence device has already been installed by several known carmakers, including Volvo, BMW, GM, and others. After its worldwide success, Mobileye was later bought by Intel in 2017.
2. The first artificial pancreas – A potential cure for diabetes?
In a possible future cure for diabetes, researchers at Betalin Therapeutics have engineered the first artificial pancreas. It can be inserted underneath the skin, without anesthesia and "reprograms" the natural pancreas to function correctly, by teaching it how to properly administer insulin. The pancreas, which is located in the abdomen, is a vital organ crucial to the digestive process. In diabetic patients, it doesn't produce enough insulin, causing the amount of sugars to increase in the bloodstream, and leading to symptoms such as nausea and shortness of breath.
Betalin's ground-breaking bio-artificial pancreas was engineered using pig lung tissue and cells secreted by insulin. It can identify a patient's blood sugar level and accurately dispense the required amount of insulin as needed, rendering all future injections, drugs or blood glucose measures obsolete.
"We are mimicking what actually happens in the body," Dr. Nikolai Kunicher, CEO of Betalin Therapeutics previously told Israel Hayom.
1. The first Israeli spacecraft to the Moon, Beresheet
In February of this year, Israel Aerospace Industries and SpaceIL did the impossible – after years of a combination of hard work, Israeli ingenuity, and budgeted-funding – the first Israeli spacecraft, Beresheet blasted off to the Moon. Beresheet – in the beginning – as it was aptly named, was sent into space, and orbited the Earth for two months relying mainly on solar powered energy in order to save fuel costs, before it crash-landed on the lunar surface in April.
Although communication was ultimately lost with the craft, it made history as both the cheapest and lightest probe ever built. Beresheet generated a combined cost of $100,000, and was funded by SpaceIL President Morris Kahn, Dr. Miriam and Sheldon Adelson, Canadian businessman Sylvan Adams, the Science and Technology Ministry, the Israel Space Agency, Israel Aerospace Industries, and numerous other private donors.
Although the Jewish state has only been in existence for 71 years, it is on a direct trajectory to technological innovation-success, from new developments in medicine to future space exploration projects.
So, who knows what the next decade may hold?
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