Zappix allows the user to browse graphically in the vocal menu of the service they want to use. That way, in order to get to the representative on the other side of the line you can push a few buttons that represent the route in the menu, and call directly to the representative’s extension. It doesn’t make the waiting time less long when you actually get to the right extension, but it sure helps a lot to overcome the extension labyrinth. Moreover, the app can remember the routes you use, and save them in your contact numbers for future use, so you don’t even need to open the app.

The app was launched in June and is available for Blackberry and Android (soon available for iPhone as well) free of charge, and currently supports 50 Israeli companies. In two months’ time it will be available in the USA, with local companies and businesses.

Zappix is a product of Israeli company Logodial, founded in April 2010 in Rechovot, Israel. It is now in its first round of recruiting investments (seeds) from private investors. The app does not require formal cooperation with the companies, though future cooperation is welcome and can lead to a better product, they say.

The idea behind the service is quite simple: “The technology we developed knows how to scan automated answering systems and map them. We update changes in the systems daily, and can add new companies quickly to the app,” said Saadia Ozeri, CEO and founder.

After downloading the app there are two options – the first is opening the app and searching for the service center there. The second option is more intuitive – you just call the service center, and if the company is enlisted in the Zappix list , the app pops-up, with the relevant menu. If you get to a dead end or the wrong extension you can just push the “back” button, without hanging up. The actual call starts only after you make your final choice of extension. The app can save routes for you as well, saving even more time.

While connecting to the service center, the app shows you the estimated waiting time and shows you  a progress bar – you do hear a few seconds of every menu you skipped, making it a bit annoying- but still the total time and money saved are worth it.

“The business potential is significant- any business that is mapped in our service can improve the service experience for the customer, without the need for many representatives, and the loss of potential customers that get the wrong extension- that can be a total of millions of dollars yearly,” said Ozeri.

The company is now working with the mobile operating systems in order to install the app automatically on new smartphones – that way every time a user calls a service center of one of the companies listed the graphic menu can be used instead of the vocal one. Another future feature is getting information or scheduling an appointment without a representative.
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Translation by Alexandra Man
Via calcalist
Photo by Vlima.com

The device, which contains technology that effectively removes bacteria and viruses from polluted water, was developed by a research team headed by Eran Schenker, an aerospace physician and director of the Aerospace Medicine Research Center at the Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, in collaboration with Haim Wilder, vice president of research and development of Strauss Water, and Prof. Eyal Shimoni, chief scientist of Strauss Group.

The goal for space operations, Wilder told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, is to be able to recycle 100 percent of water used and polluted by astronauts during their missions.

“It may be possible that in the near future, astronauts will not have to throw contaminated water into space,” Schenker said in a statement, referring to current procedures, in which all used water must be dumped into space.

After lifting off on July 8 for its final journey into space, the Atlantis landed on Thursday.

During the mission the astronauts were able to test out the Israeli water purification technology, and the results of the tests will soon be available to the team of scientists, who are currently monitoring the types of microbes that have grown on the device itself, Wilder said.

Inside the device, which was developed about six months ago, is a polymer-based substrate containing chemicals that are able to kill bacteria and viruses upon contact, Wilder explained. On Earth, the scientists had already tested that the technology works under the most extreme conditions and even had simulated a zero-gravity situation.
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Via http://www.jpost.com
Photo by NASA