10 Israeli startups that electrified investors at CES 2015

Silicon Wadi has relocated to Las Vegas this week, as numerous Israeli startups are giving CES 2015 attendees a taste of what the Startup Nation is all about. Here are 10 Israeli startups that caught my attention at CES 2015:

VocalZoom

Ever wonder what it would be like to have voice recognition that actually works in real world, noisy environments? VocalZoom* combines an optical sensor (which measures the micro-vibrations on your face with an eye-safe laser) with an acoustic microphone to drastically improve the accuracy of voice recognition, unaffected by external noise.

Status: VocalZoom announced at CES that its short-range optical sensor + microphone (called the SEEON) will be available in the final form factor for its OEM partners beginning in Q3 2015.

CES Quote: “Customers are starting to understand the depth of the innovation and the disruptive performance that VocalZoom’s technology can offer. For IoT, home automation, autonomous cars, etc. the interface of choice will be voice, and nothing today can operate at the expected level.”

Umoove

While VocalZoom is all in on voice as the next big user interface, Umoove is placing its chips on gaze. Umoove provides mobile developers with a software-only face and eye tracking API that leverages the power of an existing smartphone camera. The company envisions many potential applications for its technology including gaming, advertising and analytics. The company’s first product focus, however, is in the area of medical diagnostics and cognitive training.

Status: In the next two weeks Umoove plans to launch the first commercial health application for improving attention and focus using eye tracking.

CES Quote: “We are seeing a major focus on healthcare at this year’s CES, but most of the focus is on hardware solutions. We are giving the market a software-only product that leverages existing mobile device hardware to become an incredible diagnostic tool.”

Consumer Physics

Consumer Physics* is the maker of the SCiO, the world’s first affordable molecular sensor that fits in the palm of your hand. SCiO is a tiny spectrometer that allows you to get instant relevant information about the chemical make-up of just about anything around you, including: nutritional facts about different kinds of food, the authenticity of medications and the hydration levels of plants.

Status: The company has working prototypes and expects to ship the product in mid-2015.

CES Quote: “IoT is a big theme at this year’s CES. Scio enables us to connect to and get data about all of this “things” around us, not just those that are connected via bluetooth or wifi.”

Glide

Glide leverages proprietary, patent-pending streaming video technology to let users send and receive video messages instantaneously. Video messages are simultaneously broadcast live to recipients and stored to the cloud for on-demand viewing at any time, making communication faster and simpler than sending a video as an email or SMS attachment and more convenient than video calling.

Status: Glide is already live on iOS and Android with millions of downloads and is about to launch an iPad app and a material redesign on Android within the next couple of weeks.

CES Quote: “Our vision of the smartwatch is that it should be more than a notification screen. Using Glide, a smartwatch becomes a platform for communication — tap once and send an instant video…because mini keyboards on a watch and voice to text solutions won’t do the trick.”

Sensibo

Sensibo transforms any air conditioning unit into a smart home climate system and claims to save up to 40% on its energy usage. Sensibo enables you to control your air conditioner from your smartphone and knows things like the weather outside, whether or not the AC filter is clogged, where you are in the house and if you biked home or drove. This allows the system to automatically adjust the temperature settings to optimize for both comfort and energy savings.

Status: Estimated product delivery date at the end of Q1 of 2015 and currently available for pre-order. Looking for partnerships with AC manufacturers, distributors and other IoT companies.

CES Quote: “We are the Nest for air conditioning units, connecting AC to the internet in order to save on the world’s energy consumption and CO2 emissions and save money for consumers.”

GreenIQ

The GreenIQ Smart Garden Hub allows you to control and schedule your garden’s irrigation, from anywhere you are, anytime you want. The system intelligence is its ability to collect information from the nearest weather station to calculate optimal watering programs — on very hot and dry days plants will get more water, on cold and cloudy days less water, and on rainy days the Hub will turn off irrigation completely. As a result, the garden will get just the amount of water it needs to look great and can save users up to 50% on irrigation costs in the process.

Status: At CES the company announced the launch of the Smart Garden Hub, an open API called Garden Kit, and new partnerships / integrations with gardening devices made by Parrot, Koubachi and Netatmo.

CES Quote: “The concept of the smart home should extend beyond the four walls of the house. GreenIQ is introducing the smart garden revolution.”

Corephotonics

Corephotonics* is a compact camera design house with an expertise in computational photography. The company draws from the team’s strong background in optical design, mechanical design, image signal processing and image quality optimization. Corephotonics has already demonstrated the advantages of its technology for optical zoom, low light photography and image stabilization.

 

Status: Undisclosed

CES Quote: “We are excited to be demonstrating our technology at our partner Qualcomm’s booth. Come see us use a Snapdragon 810 processor and dual fixed cameras to simulate optical zoom.”

StoreDot

StoreDot is a nanotechnology company that is reinventing displays, batteries and more using bio-organic nano crystals called Nanodots. In Vegas, StoreDot’s Nanodot is the technological equivalent of pocket aces, a major lead out of the gate toward’s taking home a hefty pot. StoreDot’s primary claim to fame is its working smartphone battery prototype that can charge in 30 seconds with a special charger.

Status: Undisclosed

CES Quote: “CES is showcasing innovation in the areas of smartphones, wearables, automotive. Our change in technology will change the batteries in all of those devices — it will disrupt each of those industries.”

Zuta Labs

Winner of the CES Best of Innovation Award in the category of computer accessories, Zuta has developed the first mini robotic printer that can go anywhere and print from any device. The printer is designed to be mobile and convenient for day to day life, with a rechargeable battery that provides a full hour of printing. The device, which is still in development, connects wirelessly to smartphones or PCs and allows printing on any size piece of paper due to its unique mechanical drive system.

Status: Zuta opened preorders on the company’s website at CES and is targeting product delivery in September 2015.

CES Quote: “We are the coolest product here.”

MUV Interactive

MUV Interactive has developed The Bird, an innovative wearable device that can transform an entire room into a 3D interactive workspace. MUV works with any projector unit, turning the projected screen into an interactive whiteboard with touch, gesture and remote control capabilities — like a scene straight out of Minorty Report. MUV is also working on its second generation product called The Sphere, a smart multi-projector unit that can become the visualization hub of smarthome interconnectivity.

Status: MUV has already received thousands of preorders for The Bird and will be shipping the product later in Q1 of this year. The Sphere is expected to reach the market in 18–24 months.

CES Quote: “Our wearable device is the ultimate controller for the connected home. It is worn on the index finger and can be used intuitively and naturally to control any projected media, making it completely interactive.”

 

* In the spirit of full disclosure: VocalZoom, Consumer Physics, Corephotonics and MUV are OurCrowd portfolio companies.

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