Israeli Startups Impress at CES 2015

In my recent Jews in the Digital Age column for the Detroit Jewish News I looked at just five of the many Israeli technology startups I encountered at CES 2015. While I only focused on ZUtA Labs, MediSafe, Umoove, Silentium and Sensibo, there truly is some amazing innovation coming out of StartUp Nation. Here's my article:

Israeli Tech Innovation at Vegas Electronics Show

It usually takes me a few weeks to recover from my annual trek to Las Vegas for the International Consumer Electronics Show (better known as “CES”).  The convention floor alone  is the equivalent of 35 football fields -- around two miles long.

This year was bigger and better than ever before, with the main focus on what’s known as IOT (the Internet of Things). IOT will become the biggest buzzword as we progress further into the 21st century and find new opportunities to connect everyday items like cars, home security systems and kitchen appliances to networked devices like our computers and smartphones. These new technologies will afford us greater control and management of our everyday lives.

While it’s unusual to find anything truly brand new at CES, there are always a half dozen products that are the big talk of the town. These products have been improved upon over the years and with these improvements come more applications for consumer use. From 3D printers and full body scanning technology to flying drones and high-tech health/fitness wearables, it was a dizzying experience trying to keep track of all of the impressive gadgets.

As in years past I find myself keeping my ears open for the sound of Hebrew being spoken at CES. I’m always interested in new technology coming out of Israel and where I hear Hebrew, I know that an Israeli startup usually isn’t too far away. Of the more than 200,000 attendees at CES, there is an unusually high percentage of Israelis. The same is true with the exhibitors as there are always a large number of Israeli companies, startups, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.

Here is a rundown of five of the Israeli companies I encountered at CES this year:

ZUtA Labs:

One of my favorite new gadgets at CES is a little robot that is actually a printer. This mini robot has small wheels and is going to disrupt the printing industry. Rather than having paper feed through a printer, this robot runs on the paper and prints. It’s a mobile printer that you can keep in your car’s glove box and take anywhere. ZUtA claims they have created the smallest printer in the world and yet it can print on any size of paper no matter where you are. The company began with a successful Kickstarter campaign and it was no surprise to me that ZUtA Labs took home a Best of Innovation award at this year’s CES and they are a South By Southwest (SXSW) Accelerator finalist for this year. I promise you’ll be hearing more about this company in the years to come.

Rabbi Jonathan Frankel's Nucleus Intercom

A few months ago I had the opportunity to interview Rabbi Jonathan Frankel, an tech startup entrepreneur who was ordained as an Orthodox rabbi at Yeshiva University. I had heard about his wireless intercom invention for the home and was intrigued. Earlier this week at CES in Las Vegas I had a chance to meet Yonatan in person as he and his business partner Isaac Levy were exhibiting in Eureka Park, the area for technology startups at the Sands Convention Center at CES.

With Isaac Levy and Jonathan Frankel of Nucleus at CES 2015

Looking at his doll house as an example of how the Nucleus intercom works I was able to see how he can sit in his third floor office at his home while watching and listening to his baby sleeping on the first floor and interact with his Philadelphia office. With some significant additional funding, 2015 should be a pivotal year for Nucleus and Frankel. This is the article I published in the Huffington Post and the Detroit Jewish News (Renaissance Media) about Nucleus:

Orthodox Rabbi Invents Home Intercom for 21st Century

Rabbi Jonathan Frankel had no problem getting through rabbinical school at Yeshiva University or law school at Harvard. It was keeping track of his three young sons that had him running around his house losing his mind. The tech-savvy Frankel, 30, would often find himself yelling at the top of his lungs to try and get his kids to come to the dinner table. On the way to his job, he’d be unable to communicate with his wife because he didn’t know where she was – and there was usually a baby crying to add to the commotion.

Having grown up in a house with an intercom, Frankel had a feeling that it would be the answer to his family’s communication problem. After graduating from law school, Frankel took a job with Boston Consulting Group and it was there that the idea for a 21st century intercom first came to him. He and his wife were moving into a newly renovated home and he began taking bids for intercom installation. He figured that before all of the drywall was installed would be the perfect time to have professionals set up the intercom system throughout the house.

Jonathan Frankel, an ordained Orthodox rabbi, is the inventor of the Nucleus intercom

Birdhouse for Autism: Mobile App for Parents of Autistic Kids

Dani Gillman was a single mom with an autistic daughter, Brodie, who ran a popular blog detailing her daughter’s challenges and successes as a way to help other parents of autistic children. Using a pencil and paper, she vigilantly kept track of her daughter’s daily regimen, including diet, medications and vitamins, sleeping patterns, bathroom usage and doctor visits. These notes were then organized in a 3-ring binder, but the data Dani recorded was difficult to process in order to adapt Brodie’s daily routine – and it was easy to misplace the binder.

Screenshot of Birdhouse for Autism Mobile App

Enter Ben Chutz. In 2011, when Brodie was six-years-old, Ben and Dani began dating. The tech-savvy, entrepreneur with strong organizational skills took one look at the methods Dani employed to keep track and analyze Brodie’s complicated life and was immediately puzzled. “He said there must be a better way of doing this,” Dani recalled. “Ben wanted to know why I wasn’t using newer and better technology for this daily practice.” She explained to him that she had searched and there simply wasn’t any better option available.

Ben, 29, came up with the idea for “Birdhouse for Autism” not only so the two could raise Brodie using the data of her daily patterns, but also to help other parents of autistic children find the answers they need. Just as Dani, 36, has been a salvation for tens of thousands of parents with her mommy blog, “I’m Just That Way,” now the West Bloomfield couple, who belong to Temple Shir Shalom and also have an infant son Julian, are helping thousands of parents across North America with the Birdhouse website and mobile application. The name “Birdhouse” is derived from the anonymous nickname Dani uses for Brodie on the blog and because, as Dani explains, “It sounds like a warm, safe place for a bird.”

As participants in the Bizdom Startup Accelerator (part of the Rock Ventures' Family of Companies), Birdhouse has free office space in downtown Detroit next to Grand Circus Park and receives consulting from startup mentors. The couple has made great strides since Ben first questioned Dani’s pencil and notebook system in 2011. Today, Birdhouse has a robust website as well as Android and Apple iOS mobile apps – both free – that have been downloaded thousands of times.