Vinay Venkatraman: Technology crafts for the digitally underserved

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Kang Rong SUN 校对人员: Hom Liu

Frugal Digital is essentially a small research group at C.I.D.

节俭/富国电子(Frugal Digital)本质上是一家挂靠在哥本哈根互动设计机构下的小型研究机构

where we are looking to find

哥本哈根互动设计机构的成员们一直在尝试研究

alternate visions of how to create a digitally inclusive society.

改变对于如何创造一个包罗万象的电子社会的一些看法

That's what we're after.

这是我们追求的目标

And we do this because we actually believe

我们之所以这么做，是因为我们认为

that silicon technology today is mostly about

目前的硅谷科技大多关于

a culture of excess.

一种过剩文化

It's about the fastest and the most efficient

它的主体大多关于最快的速度，最高的效率

and the most dazzling gadget you can have,

最炫的工具

while about two-thirds of the world

然而，世界上三分之二左右的人

can hardly reach the most basic of this technology

几乎难以接触到这种最基本的科技

to even address fundamental needs in life,

并用这种科技解决最基本的生活需求

including health care, education

例如，医疗，教育

and all these kinds of very fundamental issues.

以及其他所有最最基本的事项

So before I start, I want to talk about a little anecdote,

所以，在我开始今天的演讲前，我想跟大家分享一个小故事

a little story about a man I met once in Mumbai.

是关于一位我曾在孟买碰到的先生

So this man, his name is Sathi Shri.

他名叫萨斯-佘理

He is an outstanding person,

他非常杰出

because he's a small entrepreneur.

因为他是一位企业家

He runs a little shop

自己经营着一家小店

in one of the back streets of Mumbai.

那家店位于孟买的一条穷街陋巷

He has this little 10-square-meter store,

店面只有10平米左右

where so much is being done.

但他却在这间简陋狭小的店铺里做了很多事情

It's incredible, because I couldn't believe my eyes

令人难以置信，我简直不敢相信我自己的眼睛

when I once just happened to bump into him.

当我有一次偶遇他的时候

Basically, what he does is, he has all these services

他所提供的服务几乎包罗万象，无所不及

for micro-payments and booking tickets

那些服务通常针对小额付款和在线订票

and all kinds of basic things that you would go online for,

还有各种琐碎、基本的在线活动，你能想到的那些基本上都被涵盖在内

but he does it for people offline

但是他是服务于线下的客户

and connects to the digital world.

把线下的客户连接到电子世界中来

More importantly, he makes his money

更重要的是，他的盈利模式是

by selling these mobile recharge coupons, you know,

通过销售手机充值卡

for the prepaid subscriptions.

给预付卡的用户

But then, in the backside, he's got this little nook

然后，在店面，他有个小房间

with a few of his employees

和一些员工

where they can fix almost anything.

在里面他们就可以修理几乎所有东西

Any cell phone, any gadget you can bring them, they can fix it.

包括所有手机，小工具，他们都可以修理

And it's pretty incredible because I took my iPhone there,

覆盖的服务还很广泛，我曾经就拿过iPhone去修

and he was like, "Yeah, do you want an upgrade?"

他说：“你是否需要升级？”

"Yes." (Laughter)

“当然要！”（笑声）

I was a bit skeptical, but then, I decided

当时我其实对他抱有怀疑，但是之后我决定

to give him a Nokia instead. (Laughter)

还是先给他个诺基亚试试看吧（笑声）

But what I was amazed about is this reverse engineering

不过之后我就吃惊了，他的逆向工程做得如此之好

and know-how that's built into this little two meters of space.

他拿小小的两米空间内竟然蕴藏着如此深厚的知识功力

They have figured out everything that's required

他们能够解决所有需要的东西

to dismantle, take things apart,

例如拆解

rewrite the circuitry, re-flash the firmware,

重排电路，更新固件

do whatever you want to with the phone,

对手机无所不能

and they can fix anything so quickly.

而且他们修理速度非常之快

You can hand over a phone this morning

你可以把手机早上拿过去

and you can go pick it up after lunch,

午饭后左右就可以取回了

and it was quite incredible.

相当惊人

But then we were wondering whether this is

于是我们差异这究竟是

a local phenomenon, or is truly global?

当地的一个现象，还是在全球均属普遍现象

And, over time, we started understanding

随着时间慢慢过去，我们开始逐渐理解

and systematically researching

也开始系统地做一些研究

what this tinkering ecosystem is about,

他们这种维修生态系统究竟是什么

because that is something that's happening

因为这发生在

not just in one street corner in Mumbai.

孟买的大街小巷，每个角落，并非只在这条街而已

It's actually happening in all parts of the country.

甚至遍布全国

It's even happening in Africa, like, for example,

乃至非洲，比如

in Cape Town we did extensive research on this.

我们在开普敦对此做了大量研究

Even here in Doha I found this little nook

即便在这里——多哈，我也能找到这个小小的角落

where you can get alarm clocks and watches fixed,

你可以通过它修理闹钟和手表

and it's a lot of tiny little parts. It's not easy.

闹钟、手表都有很多小零部件，修理起来着实不易

You've got to try it on your own to believe it.

你自己试试就知道了

But what fuels this?

但是是什么驱动了这些呢？

It's this entire ecosystem of low-cost parts

就是整套低成本零件的生态系统

and supplies that are produced all over the world, literally,

产自世界各地

and then redistributed to basically service this industry,

而后，他们重新分配到这个产业

and you can even buy salvaged parts.

你甚至可以通过他们买到二手零件

Basically, you don't have to necessarily buy

你甚至基本上不用买

brand new things. You have condemned computers

任何新的东西。你有个坏电脑

that are stripped apart,

那些电脑没有了外壳

and you can buy salvaged components

但是你可以买一些处理零部件

and things that you can reassemble in a new configuration.

然后重新组装一台电脑

But what does this new, sort of, approach give us?

那么我们可以从这种新的方式中学到什么呢？

That's the real question, because this is something

这是真正关键的问题，因为有些东西一直存在着

that's been there, part of every society

作为每个社会的一部分

that's deprived of enough resources.

需要耗费太多资源

But there's an interesting paradigm.

但是，同时也有一个有趣的范式

There's the traditional crafts,

通常现有传统手工艺

and then there's the technology crafts.

而后演变成科技含量高的工艺

We call it the technology crafts because these are emerging.

我们称之为“科技含量高的工艺”是因为它们还刚刚兴起

They're not something that's been established.

它们并非成熟的产业

It's not something that's institutionalized.

没有形成气候

It's not taught in universities.

大学里也没有关于这一领域的课程和研究

It's taught [by] word of mouth,

而是口口相传的

and it's an informal education system around this.

属于非正式教育体系

So we said, "What can we get out of this?

因此，我们想说：“我们究竟可以从中学到什么呢？”

You know, like, what are the key values that we can get out of this?"

你认为我们应从中学习什么关键价值观呢？

The main thing is a fix-it-locally culture,

我认为主要是一种文化，即力争在本地修复

which is fantastic because it means that your product

这简直太棒了，因为这意味着你的产品

or your service doesn't have to go through

或服务无需经过

a huge bureaucratic system to get it fixed.

冗长的行政系统，才最终得以修复

It also affords us cheap fabrication, which is fantastic,

同时，它也便于我们获得经济实惠的附件，这也非常好，

so it means that you can do a lot more with it.

因为它意味着你可以花同样的钱做更多的事

And then, the most important thing is,

然后，最重要的是

it gives us large math for low cost.

它为我们大大地节省了成本

So it means that you can actually embed

也就意味着你可以运用

pretty clever algorithms and lots of other kinds

很多巧妙的算法

of extendable ideas into really simple devices.

把它更广泛地应用于一些实际上非常简单的设备上

So, what we call this is a silicon cottage industry.

因此，我们称之为硅谷“山寨”行业

It's basically what was the system or the paradigm

基本上，它就是工业革命前的系统或范式

before the industrial revolution is now re-happening

这种系统和范式现在再次上演

in a whole new way in small digital shops

以一种全新的方式，开展在小规模电子商店里

across the planet in most developing countries.

遍布全球大多数的发展中国家

So, we kind of toyed around with this idea,

因此，我们就考虑这个想法

and we said, "What can we do with this?

我们想：“我们能利用这个想法做些什么呢？

Can we make a little product or a service out of it?"

能不能用它来发明一些小产品或设计什么服务呢？“

So one of the first things we did is this thing called

因此我们做的第一件事就是

a multimedia platform. We call it a lunch box.

多媒体平台。我们称之为”午餐盒“

Basically one of the contexts that we studied was

我们研究的场景之一是

schools in very remote parts of India.

位于印度很偏远的学校

So there is this amazing concept called the one-teacher school,

这个惊人的想法在当地被叫做”一个老师的学校“

which is basically a single teacher who is a multitasker

这唯一的老师在那里扮演着多重角色

who teaches this amazing little social setting.

在这让人惊讶的小型社会场合中教课

It's an informal school,

它是一所非正规教育的学校

but it's really about holistic education.

但教育的领域很是全面

The only thing that they don't have

他们唯一没有的是

is access to resources. They don't even have a textbook

资源。他们甚至没有教科书

sometimes, and they don't even have a proper curriculum.

有时候，他们也没有合适的课程

So we said, "What can we do to empower this teacher

所以我们就像：”我们如何才能让这位老师有更多‘权力’呢

to do more?" How to access the digital world?

从而他可以施展更多？”如何让他接触到电子世界？

Instead of being the sole guardian of information,

而非作为唯一的信息守护者

be a facilitator to all this information.

让他能够传递这些信息

So we said, "What are the steps required to empower the teacher?"

所以我们想：“要做到这一点哪些步骤是必要的呢？”

How do you make this teacher into a digital gateway,

如何让这位老师成为数字的大门

and how do you design an inexpensive multimedia platform

如何设计一个花费不太高昂的多媒体平台

that can be constructed locally and serviced locally?"

而且这个平台需要在本地搭建，并服务本地“

So we walked around.

于是我们在当地考察了一番

We went and scavenged the nearby markets,

去了一些就近的市场

and we tried to understand, "What can we pick up that will make this happen?"

试着去了解，”通过学习什么东西能促进实现这个想法？“

So the thing that we got

我们从中学到了一点

was a little mobile phone with a little pico projector

那就是配备小投影仪的移动电话

that comes for about 60 dollars.

一台这样的电话大约是60美元

We went a bought a flashlight with a very big battery,

我们买了一个带大电池的闪光灯

and a bunch of small speakers.

还有一些小的麦克风

So essentially, the mobile phone gives us

于是，这部手机给了我们

a connected multimedia platform.

一个连接外界的多媒体平台

It allows us to get online and allows us to load up files

我们可以通过它上网，上传文件

of different formats and play them.

包括各种格式，还可以播放、观看这些文件

The flashlight gives us this really intense, bright L.E.D.,

闪光灯则是一个发光很强，很明亮的LED

and six hours worth of rechargeable battery pack,

还带有可充电的电池，可支撑长达6小时

and the lunch box is a nice little package

这个”午饭盒“可谓一个很不错的小装备

in which you can put everything inside,

你可以往里面放任何东西

and a bunch of mini speakers to sort of

以及一些小型扬声器用来

amplify the sound large enough.

扩大音量

Believe me, those little classrooms are really noisy.

请相信我，那些小教室确实非常嘈杂

They are kids who scream at the top of their voices,

小孩子们通常都大喊大叫

and you really have to get above that.

因此你的音量必须高过他们

And we took it back to this little tinkering setup

我们拿回这件小东西

of a mobile phone repair shop,

把它拿到那个维修铺

and then the magic happens.

随后，奇妙的事情就发生了

We dismantle the whole thing,

我们拆解了它

we reassemble it in a new configuration,

把它重新组装

and we do this hardware mashup,

把硬件重整一番

systematically training the guy how to do this.

系统性地培训了团队成员如何操作

Out comes this, a little lunch box -- form factor.

于是，这个小”午饭盒”就诞生了！

(Applause)

（掌声）

And we systematically field tested,

之后，我们进行了系统性地实地测试

because in the field testing we learned some

因为在这些实地测试中我们可以了解到

important lessons, and we went through many iterations.

一些要点，我们经历一遍又一遍的重复

One of the key issues was battery consumption and charging.

一个关键的问题是电池耗电量和充电

Luminosity was an issue, when you have too much bright sunlight outside.

亮度也是个问题，有时候室外的阳光非常刺眼

Often the roofs are broken, so you don't have enough

因为很多情况下屋顶是破损的，因此你的教室

darkness in the classroom to do these things.

可能暗度不合适

We extended this idea. We tested it many times over,

我们延伸了这一想法，再次反复调试了很多次

and the next version we came up with was a box

之后的升级版

that kind of could trickle charge on solar energy,

可以利用太阳能来充电

but most importantly connect to a car battery,

更重要的是，它可以连接到汽车电池

because a car battery is a ubiquitous source of power

因为汽车电池是比较普及的能源形式

in places where there's not enough electricity

特别是当地这种电力不完善的地方

or erratic electricity.

或者说供电不稳定

And the other key thing that we did was

我们做的另外一件很关键的事情是

make this box run off a USB key, because we realized

给它设计了一个USB接口，因为我们意识到

that even though there was GPRS and all that on paper,

纵使有GPRS信号，和论文里面都有的东西，

at least, in theory, it was much more efficient

至少理论上更有效的方式是

to send the data on a little USB key by surface mail.

用U盘传送数据

It might take a few days to get there,

可能需要几天才能到

but at least it gets there in high definition

但至少清晰度很高

and in a reliable quality.

而且质量可靠

So we made this box, and we tested it again

因此我们做了这个小盒子，然后重新测试了一下

and again and again, and we're going through

并随着设计不断测试

multiple iterations to do these things.

不断改进

But it's not limited to just education.

但是这个技术绝非仅限于用于教育

This kind of a technique or metrology

这种技术

can actually be applied to other kinds of areas,

几乎可以用于任何领域

and I'm going to tell you one more little story.

让我再告诉你一个小故事

It's about this little device called a medi-meter.

这个故事关于一个叫做“中介测量器”的小设备

It's basically a little health care screening tool that we developed.

这是我们研发的一个小型健康检测仪

In India, there is a context of these amazing people,

在印度，有一群

the health care workers called ASHA workers.

惊人的医疗工作者——ASHA工作人员

They are essentially foot soldiers for the health care system

他们堪称医疗卫生系统的排头兵

who live in the local community and are trained

生活在当地社区，接受过

with basic tools and basic concepts of health care,

基本医疗概念和工具操作的培训

and the main purpose is basically to inform people

主要目的是告诉人们

to basically, how to lead a better life, but also

如何过更好的生活，同时

to divert or sort of make recommendations

提出一些建议

of what kind of health care should they approach?

关于他们应该获取哪种医疗服务？

They are basically referral services, essentially.

从本质上来讲，他们是为人们推荐服务

But the problem with that is that we realized

但是我们觉得这其中的问题是

after a bunch of research that they are amazing

经过一系列研究之后，他们会

at referring people to the nearest clinic

告诉人们哪里是最近的诊室

or the public health care system, but what happens at the

或者公共医疗护理系统，但是

public health care system is this: these incredibly long lines

那些公共医疗护理系统的一个问题是：这些地方通常都需要排很长的队

and too many people who overload the system

人太多了，使得系统超负荷运转

simply because there's not enough doctors and facilities

简单说是因为医生和设备数量不够

for the population that's being referred.

对比需要使用这些资源的人数

So everything from a common cold

因此，下至普通感冒

to a serious case of malaria gets almost the same

上至严重的疟疾，基本上都是同等对待

level of attention, and there's no priorities.

没有分优先级

So we said, "Come on, there's got to be a better way

于是我们就想：“不行！一定得有一种更好的方式！

of doing this for sure."

需要有更好的办法来解决这个问题！”

So we said, "What can we do with the ASHA worker

“那么我们该怎么跟ASHA工作人员一起合作呢

that'll allow this ASHA worker to become an interesting filter,

才能让他们成为一个好的筛选机制

but not just a filter, a really well thought through referral

而不仅仅是一个筛子而已，能够让他们发挥推荐的作用

system that allows load balancing of the network,

进而还可以平衡系统内的工作量

and directs patients to different sources of health care

把不同病人分配到不同的卫生资源

based on the severity or the criticalness of those situations?"

根据他们疾病的严重程度”

So the real key question was,

于是最关键的问题就是

how do we empower this woman?

我们如何助力这些女士们？

How do we empower her with simple tools

如何用比较简单的工具让她们有能力胜任？

that's not diagnostic but more screening in nature

本质上是更多的侧重于筛选，而非严格诊断

so she at least knows how to advise the patients better?

从而让她们如何给病人更好的建议？

And that'll make such a huge difference on the system,

这对系统会产生很大的影响

because the amount of waiting time and the amount of

因为等候的时间太长，并且他们需要做跋涉的路程太远

distances that people need to travel, often sometimes

有时候当地人需要经过

seven to 15 kilometers, sometimes by foot,

7-15公里，有时候甚至是步行的

to get a simple health check done, is very, very detrimental

才可以获得一次简单的健康检查，这是极其不利的

in the sense that it really dissuades people

从某种程度上讲，甚至让人们放弃

from getting access to health care.

去获取医疗服务

So if there was something that she could do,

因此，如果她们可以做到

that would be amazing.

刚才提到的那些事情，那将令人震撼而惊奇

So what we did was that we converted this device

于是我们把这个想法转换成了这个设备

into a medical device.

这个医疗仪器

I want to demo this actually,

让我来为你们展示一下

because it's a very simple process.

因为过程很简单

Bruno, do you want to join us? (Cheers)

布鲁诺，想一起来吗？（鼓励）

Come along. (Applause)

来吧！（掌声）

So, what we're going to do is that

我们要做的就是

we're going to measure a few basic parameters on you,

来测量你的一些基本指标

including your pulse rate and the amount of oxygen

包括，脉搏、心率、氧饱和率

that's there in your blood.

就是那些在你血液里的氧气含量

So you're going to put your thumb on top of this.

你只要把手指放在上面就可以了

Bruno Giussani: Like this, works?

布鲁诺：就像这样？可以吗？

Vinay Venkatraman: Yeah. That's right. BG: Okay.

威内：对，没错。布鲁诺：好

VV: So I'm going to start it up. I hope it works.

威内：好，那我要开始啦！希望它能成功。

(Beeps) It even beeps, because it's an alarm clock, after all.

（嘀嘀声）它会发出嘀嘀声，因为它毕竟是个闹钟

So ... (Laughter)

呵呵（笑声）

So I take it into the start position, and then

好，现在我从头开始，然后

I press the read button. (Beeps)

我按下阅读键（嘀嘀声）

So it's taking a little reading from you. (Beeps)

于是，它就开始测量了你的那些指标了（嘀嘀声）

And then the pointer goes and points to three different options.

然后指针就指向三个不同的标准

Let's see what happens here.

让我们来看一看

(Beeps) Oh Bruno, you can go home, actually.

（嘀嘀声）哦，布鲁诺，你可以回去了

BG: Great. Good news. (Applause)

BG：太棒了！好消息！（掌声）

VV: So ... (Applause)

威内：呵呵，那么……（掌声）

So the thing about this is that

从中我们可以看到

if the pointer, unfortunately, had pointed to the red spot,

如果指针不幸地指向红色区域

we would have to rush you to a hospital.

它警示我们要赶紧去医院

Luckily, not today. And if it had pointed to the orange

还好今天不是这样。如果它指向橙色区域

or the amber, it basically meant you had to have,

或者受琥珀色，那么说明你必须

sort of, more continuous care from the health care worker.

从医疗工作者那里获取持续的护理服务

So that was a very simple three-step screening process

所以，这可以说是一个很简单的三部曲检验流程

that could basically change the equation

但是却可以带来很多改变

of how public health care works in so many different ways.

对公共医疗卫生产生方方面面的影响

BG: Thank you for the good news. VV: Yeah.

布鲁诺：谢谢你的好消息！威内：没关系！

(Applause)

（掌声）

So, very briefly, I'll just explain to you how this is done,

所以，我已经向各位简要介绍了这个设备的基本工作方式

because that's the more interesting part.

因为这部分比较有趣

So essentially, the three things that are required

从根本上来讲，需要具备三点

to make this conversion from this guy to this guy

来确保这一转变

is a cheap remote control for a television

首先是价格低廉电视机的遥控器

that you can almost find in every home today,

这个你在哪里都买得到

some parts from a computer mouse, basically,

其次是电脑鼠标的一些部件

something that you can scavenge for very low cost,

这些你也可以以很低的价格淘到

and a few parts that have to be pre-programmed.

还有就是一些编过程的部件

Basically this is a micro-controller with a few

换句话说，它就是个小遥控器，外加一些

extra components that can be shipped for very little cost

零部件，都是极其便宜的东西

across the world, and that's what is all required

在世界上任何地方一样。这就是所需要的全部了

with a little bit of local tinkering talent

可能还需要一点当地的维修人才

to convert the device into something else.

来转换这个设备

So we are right now doing some systematic field tests

所以我们现在要做的就是一些系统的实地测试

to basically ascertain whether something like this actually

从而确认这个设备是否

makes sense to the ASHA worker.

能够合理地应用于ASHA工作人员的工作场合

We are going through some reference tests to compare it

我们开展了一些对比测试来进行比较

against professional equipment to see if there's a degree

跟那些专业设备进行对比，看看

of change in efficacy and if it actually makes an impact

在效率方面的提高和对

in people's lives. But most importantly,

人们生活产生的实际响。不过，最重要的当属

what we are trying to do right now

我们现在尝试做的

is we are trying to scale this up, because there

是扩大它的规模

are over 250,000 ASHA workers on the ground

因为总共有超过25万ASHA工作人员

who are these amazing foot soldiers, and if we can

作为医疗领域的排头兵，如果我们可以

give at least a fraction of them the access to these things,

至少给他们中的一部分这些设备

it just changes the way the economics of public health care

就可以大大改变公共医疗卫生的经济

works, and it changes the way systems actually function,

运作方式了，它改变了系统的运作方式

not just on a systematic planning level,

而不仅是在系统性统筹计划层面上的

but also in a very grassroots, bottom-up level.

但是也非常草根，非常自下而上

So that's it, and we hope to do this in a big way.

就是这样，我们希望能更大规模地做这些事情

Thank you. (Applause)

谢谢！（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）