July 14, 2014, Updated July 17, 2014

It’s summertime and an Israeli startup called Babeep has a new device that could make it safer. The Ra’anana-based company has developed what it says is the first visual and audio drivers’ aid to remind people to check for baby prior to locking their vehicle.

On average, 37 US children die every year after being forgotten in a hot car.

“The facts are sobering: A car, even with the windows cracked, can become as hot as an oven in minutes. Children’s body temperature rises faster than [that of] adults,” said David Avital, CEO and founder of Babeep. “Our goal as a company is to make baby reminders standard in every vehicle. And until then, Babeep is an affordable (under $40) cell phone charger and memory aid that takes seconds to install, and just works.”

The patent-pending device plugs into a car’s 12V power socket (cigarette lighter) and lights up green or red. “Our cars remind us to use a seatbelt or disengage an airbag, so we created a reminder to check for a baby on board,” said Kim Stowe, VP Marketing for Babeep.

Through its crowdfunding campaign on indiegogo,  Babeep is seeking $300,000 for manufacturing, distribution and other expenses.


On a more smiley note, the Haifa-based Flexi Floss startup has invented Gummy Floss, “the world’s first ever flexible medical grade silicone rubber floss suitable for all ages.”

Think Rainbow Loom for your teeth. This new dental helper aims to make flossing easier and more colorful.

The company says the first $35,000 it raises on its current crowdfunding campaign will go to making the new oral hygiene product and taking it to distributors. They plan to use added funds to create new molds, colors and flavors.

Another new Israeli startup on the Kickstarter campaign trail is SmartWood. This educational toy is already shaking up the do-it-yourself model building market. The kit comes with laser-cut plywood pieces that need to be assembled around an arduino compatible miniature control board. To drive: Use your smartphone (iOS or Android).

The two young guys behind the project – Elad Shifman, product engineer and former UAV R&D team leader, turned extra-curricular educator for school kids, and Gil Vismonsky, industrial designer and founder of a technological curriculum development company – are on a mission to interest kids in engineering, design and basic programming through fun, hackable toys.

On a side note, I saw this cutting edge technology in motion at the Makers Faire in Jerusalem recently. It is contagiously fun.

And then there’s CliPill, for people who have trouble swallowing pills. As a former liquid-only medicine-taker, Israeli entrepreneur/pharmacist/lawyer Ariel Averbuch relates on his crowdfunding site  that as much as 40 percent of the population has difficulty taking medicine in pill form.

His plastic contraption fits onto a drinking glass and helps guide the pill down your gullet without a second thought.
Averbuch hopes to raise $24,000 so you won’t need a spoonful of sugar to make the medicine go down.

Finally, the Modillian Smart Strap is one of those Israeli inventions that piqued interest even before the launch of its indiegogo campaign on June 10. Eran Reuveni, an industrial engineer and lover of both electronic gadgets and classic analog watches, teamed up with electronics engineer Gilad Kirshenboim to create a smart watch strap for your non-smart watch.

The Tel Aviv duo launched its $85,000 campaign to manufacture and deliver the Bluetooth watchband buckle. “Instead of a standalone, ugly techy watch, this thing just attaches to your existing watch but makes it vastly more useful,” writes the Huffington Post.

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