Can you train an AI to take a breath, wince, and remark, “Well, it’s going to cost you”?

That’s probably easier than teaching one to diagnose problems with your car after a visual scan of its undercarriage, and yet the latter is what an Israeli company called UVeye has done. The company has developed what you might think of as a car scanner that can diagnose problems in just a few seconds. Drive past it, and it will image your car’s panels, tires, or underbody, spotting dings, oil leaks, foreign objects, or other problems, flagging them for remedy.

It’s another intriguing example of the civilian spinoffs that have emerged from Israel’s national security sector over the last couple of decades as sensors and algorithms find new life on civvy streets.