Eikolos, an Israeli startup, is developing optical camera communication applications that allow humans and machines to interact in new ways. One of its first applications is helping the military detect whether drones are friends or foes. (see the image).
The company, which launched in 2023, just months before Israel’s current war started, envisions many more applications for its technology, including allowing people to communicate with others directly via their AI-powered AR glasses; increasing road safety by enabling cars to emit data that explains that they are about to brake or change lanes; and providing context inside crowded conferences, allowing individuals to just gaze around the room and see details about the people who opt-in to clearly understand who they should approach.
Eikolos embodies several trends: Governments are scrambling to incorporate the most advanced AI, communications and drone technologies into their weapons and defense systems; they are increasingly sourcing these from the commercial market; and these technologies often have multiple use cases, blurring the lines between the defense and tech sectors.

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Metals and plastics are halting innovation in connected devices as they have reached their physical limitations, says Berlin-based Carbon Mobile. It aims to deliver thinner, lighter, stronger and more sustainable composite materials for mobile phones and other consumer electronic devices such as tablets, gaming and AR/VR devices.

Advanced carbon fiber composites have long been sought after as alternatives to materials currently used in connected devices, but their use has been hindered by electrical and wireless connectivity issues. Carbon Mobile’s patented Hybrid Radio Enabled Composite Material (HyRECM) forges carbon fibers with a complementary composite material with signal allowing properties. The technology stabilizes the electrical and wireless connectivity properties of the composite without compromising on other material properties or the production process. This includes embedded electrostatic discharge isolation, electromagnetic interference shielding and antenna noise cancellation, and enables radio frequency signal permeation for low- and high-frequency bands in a single carbon fiber composite monocoque structure inside connected devices.

What’s more, Carbon Mobile’s composite material is sustainable, says founder and CEO Firas Khalifeh. “We are re-imagining the way electronics are designed, used and recycled,” he says. The company plans to later apply its breakthroughs in composite materials to the mobility sector, targeting everything from drones and satellites to electric vehicles.

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