- Lewandowski treble powers Liga leaders Barca to Alaves victory
- Russian activist killed on front line in Ukraine
- Openda strike briefly sends Leipzig top of Bundesliga
- Goal-shy Man Utd have to 'step up', says Ten Hag
- India bowl out Bangladesh for 127 in T20 opener
- Madueke rescues Chelsea in draw with 10-man Forest
- Beckett's belief rewarded as Bluestocking storms to Arc glory
- Trump on the stump, Harris hits airwaves in razor-edge US election
- Flash flooding kills three in northern Thailand
- Kaur leads India to victory over Pakistan in Women's T20 World Cup
- Juventus held by Cagliari after late penalty drama
- In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- Ruthless Gauff beats Muchova in straight sets to win China Open
- India restrict Pakistan to 105-8 in Women's T20 World Cup
- England target repeat of Pakistan Test whitewash
- Penrith Panthers win fourth straight NRL title after downing Storm
- Weary Sinner happy for day off after battling into Shanghai last 16
- Pakistan's Masood warns England still a force without Stokes
- Madrid's Carvajal to miss several months after serious knee injury
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Sabalenka targets world number one and Wuhan hat-trick
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Bagnaia sets 'example' with Japan MotoGP win to cut gap on Martin
- Intense Israeli bombing rocks Beirut ahead of war anniversary
- Mozambique vote: no suspense but some disillusion
- Austrian rapper channels anti-racist rage in Romani hip-hop songs
- Ohtani magic powers Dodgers over Padres in MLB playoff thriller
- Five of the best: Pakistan-England Test thrillers
- Man sets arm on fire as marches across US mark Gaza war anniversary
- Vietnam's young coffee entrepreneurs brew up a revolution
- Trump rallies at site of failed assassination: 'Never quit'
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- Is music finally reckoning with #MeToo?
- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
Traffic jams just a maths problem, says Israeli AI firm
Israel's traffic congestion ranks near the worst among developed economies but an algorithm can help, says one of the country's IT firms engaged in the auto and mobility sector.
ITC, or Intelligent Traffic Control, was one of the artificial intelligence players at Tel Aviv's recent EcoMotion showcase where high-tech and AI firms hope to make transport more efficient and cleaner.
Its AI software collects real-time data from road cameras and then sends instructions to manipulate traffic lights based on vehicle flows.
"ITC managed to prove mathematically that many traffic jams can be prevented –- if you intervene early enough," said its co-founder and chief technology officer Dvir Kenig, citing a 30 percent drop in traffic at the two junctions using their system.
The company says road congestion is a global scourge, calculating that the average driver spends three days a year stuck in traffic, also pumping out greenhouse gas emissions.
The problem is acute in Israel where, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development says, "transportation infrastructure lags significantly behind" most member countries and "road congestion is one of the worst in the OECD".
- Military innovations -
EcoMotion's founder Meir Arnon told AFP that surging global interest in smart mobility had made Israel an auto industry player, even though it doesn't manufacture any cars.
"Cars changed," said the industrialist turned investor. "Cars were metal and wheels and a radio. Today these things don't matter, they're all mass produced by the same companies for everyone.
"What differentiates car manufacturers today is the driving experience... the vehicle's ability to adapt itself to the driver," he said.
Systems developed by Israel's army and private defence industry -- notably surveillance, communication and sensory technology -- have become central to automakers, Arnon said.
With over 600 start-ups in the field -- "second only to Silicon Valley" -- Israel has become a "centre of mobility," Arnon said, noting that 35 global auto companies have operations in the country, including General Motors.
"The future of vehicles lies outside vehicles -- in the cloud, our phones, in the cars to some extent, and all these elements create an open platform," said Gil Golan, head of GM's local technical centre.
"This open platform is a place for innovation and creativity, which Israelis are good at."
- Engineers needed -
Also at EcoMotion was Rider Dome, whose cameras mounted on the front and back of motorcycles use artificial intelligence to warn riders of nearby dangers.
"A driving assistant that has become a standard in nearly every car does not exist in motorcycles," chief executive Yoav Elgrichi said. "That's why we decided to found Rider Dome."
But some observers warn that Israel's technology sector, including smart mobility, could run out of steam.
The Israel Innovation Authority says the tech sector, which accounts for half the country's exports and one in 10 jobs, is "maturing" and the number of new startups is on the decline.
Israel needs more engineers, argues Lisya Bahar Manoah, a partner at Catalyst Investments, if it wants to keep pace with the growing mobility sector that is expected to "double in size" globally over the coming years.
"The way that we can overcome the problem is -- like in Europe, especially in Germany and Austria -– they are creating professional schools," she said.
"Israel needs to stop and think now about a way to create more engineers in order to support the start-up system. We need to adjust our education system accordingly."
P.Sousa--PC