Andreas Raptopoulos: No roads? There's a drone for that

譯者: Ho Man Li 審譯者: Brandon Jow

One billion people in the world today

今天世界上有十億人

do not have access to all-season roads.

不能使用全天候皆能運作的道路。

One billion people.

一億人。

One seventh of the Earth's population

地球七分之一的人口

are totally cut off for some part of the year.

一年中有時被截斷聯繫，

We cannot get medicine to them reliably,

我們不能可靠地運送藥物，

they cannot get critical supplies,

他們不能拿到緊急物資，

and they cannot get their goods to market

不能以到市場賣東西

in order to create a sustainable income.

創造稳定的收入。

In sub-Saharan Africa, for instance,

在撒哈拉南邊，

85 percent of roads are unusable in the wet season.

雨季裏百分之85的道路都是不可用的。

Investments are being made,

在現今階段

but at the current level,

有人投資在道路上，

it's estimated it's going to take them

但估計需要50年

50 years to catch up.

才能解決。

In the U.S. alone, there's more than four million

僅在美國，就有超過四百萬

miles of roads, very expensive to build,

英里的道路；建設非常昂貴，

very expensive to maintain infrastructure,

維修也很貴，

with a huge ecological footprint,

非常不環保

and yet, very often, congested.

可是，通常都是堵塞了的。

So we saw this and we thought,

所以我們想，

can there be a better way?

有更好的辦法嗎？

Can we create a system using today's most advanced technologies

利用現代科技，可否建立一個

that can allow this part of the world to leapfrog

能令這些人受惠的系統，

in the same way they've done with mobile telephones

就像最近十年內

in the last 10 years?

像手提電話一樣？

Many of those nations have excellent telecommunications today

現今擁有最好的電訊的國家

without ever putting copper lines in the ground.

通常都沒有埋銅線於地下。

Could we do the same for transportation?

我們能用同樣的方法來處理交通嗎？

Imagine this scenario.

想像一下。

Imagine you are in a maternity ward in Mali,

想像你在馬里（非洲國家）的產房，

and have a newborn in need of urgent medication.

需要緊急醫療。

What would you do today?

你會做什麼？

Well, you would place a request via mobile phone,

你會打電話

and someone would get the request immediately.

然後有人會立即知道。

That's the part that works.

這部分沒問題。

The medication may take days to arrive, though,

然而藥物可能需要幾日才到達

because of bad roads.

因為很差的的交通因素。

That's the part that's broken.

這部分十分殘破。

We believe we can deliver it within hours

我們相信，利用獨立飛航的工具

with an electric autonomous flying vehicle

藥物幾小時就能被運到。

such as this.

就像這樣。

This can transport a small payload today, about two kilograms,

這能與大概十公里範圍內運送

over a short distance, about 10 kilometers,

大概兩公斤的物資，

but it's part of a wider network that may cover

同時是一個龐大網絡的一部分，

the entire country, maybe even the entire continent.

大至整個國家，甚至整個大陸。

It's an ultra-flexible, automated logistics network.

它是十分彈性，自動的物流網絡。

It's a network for a transportation of matter.

它是傳送物資的網絡。

We call it Matternet.

我們叫他為「Matternet」。

We use three key technologies.

我們用三個主要的科技。

The first is electric autonomous flying vehicles.

第一，電子飛航交通工具。

The second is automated ground stations

第二，自動化的地面車站，

that the vehicles fly in and out of

那會容許飛航工具

to swap batteries and fly farther,

換電池和飛更遠，

or pick up or deliver loads.

拿起和放下負載。

And the third is the operating system

第三，管理整個網絡

that manages the whole network.

的操作系統。

Let's look at each one of those technologies in a bit more detail.

現在，我們詳細地看這些科技。

First of all, the UAVs.

首先，無人機。

Eventually, we're going to be using all sorts of vehicles

有朝一日，我們將根據不同的重量和距離

for different payload capacities and different ranges.

而使用不同的無人機。

Today, we're using small quads.

今天，我們在用四方的小飛機。

These are able to transport two kilograms

這些能在15分鐘內

over 10 kilometers in just about 15 minutes.

飛超過10公里運輸2公斤的物資。

Compare this with trying to trespass a bad road

比較在發展中國家

in the developing world,

嘗試用車走過凹凸不平的道路，

or even being stuck in traffic

甚至是在已發展國家

in a developed world country.

經常出現的交通擁塞。

These fly autonomously.

這些能自動飛行。

This is the key to the technology.

這科技十分重要。

So they use GPS and other sensors on board

他們利用GPS和其他感應器

to navigate between ground stations.

在地上車站導航。

Every vehicle is equipped with an automatic

每輛機器都裝上

payload and battery exchange mechanism,

有效載荷和換電池的機制，

so these vehicles navigate to those ground stations,

這些無人機航行到這些車站，

they dock, swap a battery automatically,

停泊，換電池，

and go out again.

再次行駛。

The ground stations are located on safe locations

這些車站是位於地上

on the ground.

安全的位置。

They secure the most vulnerable part of the mission,

它們鞏固整個任務最脆弱的部分：

which is the landing.

降落。

They are at known locations on the ground,

這些車站位於已知的地點，

so the paths between them are also known,

因此它們中間的路線也是清楚的；

which is very important from a reliability perspective

站在可信性的立場來說，對於整個網絡，

from the whole network.

這是十分重要的。

Apart from fulfilling the energy requirements of the vehicles,

除了滿足機器的能源需要，

eventually they're going to be becoming

它們最終都要成為

commercial hubs where people can take out loads

人們能在網絡中拿出物資

or put loads into the network.

或放東西進去的商業樞紐。

The last component is the operating system

最後的部分是管理整個網絡的

that manages the whole network.

運作系統。

It monitors weather data from all the ground stations

它掌控來自地下車站的天氣資料，

and optimizes the routes of the vehicles through the system

為機器尋找最佳的路線，

to avoid adverse weather conditions,

避免不利的天氣和

avoid other risk factors,

其他風險因素，

and optimize the use of the resources

在網絡中最有效地

throughout the network.

運用資源。

I want to show you what one of those flights

我想讓你們看一看

looks like.

這些無人機的樣子。

Here we are flying in Haiti last summer,

這是去年夏天我們在海地的航行，

where we've done our first field trials.

我們第一次的實地試驗。

We're modeling here a medical delivery

那裏，我們在 2010 年海地大地震後興建了一個營，

in a camp we set up after the 2010 earthquake.

現在模擬運送藥物。

People there love this.

當地的人非常喜歡。

And I want to show you

我想讓你們看看

what one of those vehicles looks like up close.

在近距離下這些飛機的樣子。

So this is a $3,000 vehicle.

這是一輛價值 3000 元的飛機。

Costs are coming down very rapidly.

價錢將會很快下降。

We use this in all sorts of weather conditions,

我們在任何天氣環境下都能使用，

very hot and very cold climates,

炎熱或寒冷，

very strong winds. They're very sturdy vehicles.

強風。它們非常結實耐用。

Imagine if your life depended on this package,

想想你生命完全依賴這包裹。

somewhere in Africa

非洲某處，

or in New York City, after Sandy.

又或經過桑迪暴風吹襲的紐約。

The next big question is, what's the cost?

第二個大問題是，價錢呢？

Well, it turns out that the cost to transport

其實在超過十公里的距離

two kilograms over 10 kilometers with this vehicle

運送兩公斤的物件

is just 24 cents.

價格僅僅是 24 美分。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

And it's counterintuitive, but the cost of energy

有違常理地，能源的價格

expended for the flight is only two cents

花費的只是整個旅程中的

of a dollar today,

2 美分而已；

and we're just at the beginning of this.

而我們只是剛剛起步。

When we saw this, we felt that this is something

我們看到這事，我們認為這能對

that can have significant impact in the world.

世界帶來顯著的效果。

So we said, okay, how much does it cost

所以我們問：在世界任何一處建立

to set up a network somewhere in the world?

一個網絡要花多少？

And we looked at setting up a network in Lesotho

所以我們查看了如何在萊索托（非洲南部內陸國家）

for transportation of HIV/AIDS samples.

建立為搜集艾滋病毒樣本的交通系統。

The problem there is how do you take them

當地的問題是：如何將樣品由

from clinics where they're being collected

蒐集樣本的診所

to hospitals where they're being analyzed?

運送到醫院做化驗？

And we said, what if we wanted to cover an area

另外，假如我們要覆蓋

spanning around 140 square kilometers?

超過 140 平方公里的範圍？

That's roughly one and a half times the size of Manhattan.

那是大概曼哈頓 1.5 倍的面積。

Well it turns out that the cost to do that there

原來，要花費的

would be less than a million dollars.

只少於 100萬美元。

Compare this to normal infrastructure investments.

將這價格和普通基建的價錢相比。

We think this can be -- this is the power

我們相信這是

of a new paradigm.

新範例的能力。

So here we are: a new idea

現在，我們從網絡上

about a network for transportation

衍生出對交通網絡

that is based on the ideas of the Internet.

新的意念。

It's decentralized, it's peer-to-peer,

它並非統一，而是點對點，

it's bidirectional, highly adaptable,

雙向，極容易適應，

with very low infrastructure investment,

以及擁有很低的基建投資，

very low ecological footprint.

非常環保。

If it is a new paradigm, though,

但假如這是新的範例，

there must be other uses for it.

它一定有其他用處。

It can be used perhaps in other places in the world.

可能在世界上其它地方都能用。

So let's look at the other end of the spectrum:

所以一起探索另一個角落。

our cities and megacities.

我們的城市和巨型城市。

Half of the Earth's population lives in cities today.

今天，一半的人住在城市。

Half a billion of us live in megacities.

超過五億人住在超大城市。

We are living through an amazing urbanization trend.

我們生活在都市化潮流的年代。

China alone is adding a megacity

光是中國，每兩年就會

the size of New York City every two years.

建設面積相當於紐約城市。

These are places that do have road infrastructure,

這些地方確實有道路基建，

but it's very inefficient.

然而非常沒效率。

Congestion is a huge problem.

交通堵塞是個很嚴重的問題。

So we think it makes sense in those places

因此我們認為在那裏

to set up a network of transportation

設立一個交通網絡有道理。

that is a new layer that sits between the road

一個新的層次，坐落於道路

and the Internet,

和網絡中間，

initially for lightweight, urgent stuff,

最初是為輕便，緊急的物資而設；

and over time, we would hope to develop this

隨著時間，我們希望將它

into a new mode of transportation

發展成新模式的交通，

that is truly a modern solution to a very old problem.

以現代的方法解決這古老的問題。

It's ultimately scalable

這方法能以

with a very small ecological footprint,

非常環保的方式擴展；

operating in the background 24/7,

每時每刻都在背後運作，

just like the Internet.

就像互聯網一樣。

So when we started this

因此在我們幾年前

a couple of years ago now,

開始研究這時，

we've had a lot of people come up to us who said,

很多人跟我們說：「

"This is a very interesting but crazy idea,

這是一個有趣然而瘋狂的想法，

and certainly not something that you should

你們不應該花時間

engage with anytime soon."

在這件事上。」

And of course, we're talking about drones, right,

當然，我們是在談無人機，

a technology that's not only unpopular in the West

一件不但在西方不普遍的科技，

but one that has become a very, very unpleasant

同時對於窮困的人來說

fact of life for many living in poor countries,

一件令人討厭的玩意，

especially those engaged in conflict.

特別是處於衝突的人。

So why are we doing this?

那我們為什麼還要做呢？

Well, we chose to do this one

我們並非因為

not because it's easy,

這件事很簡單，

but because it can have amazing impact.

卻是因為它能帶來驚人的影響。

Imagine one billion people being connected

想像十億人利用

to physical goods in the same way

像手機電信

that mobile telecommunications connected them

聯繫資訊的方式

to information.

聯繫到物品。

Imagine if the next big network we built in the world

想像我們世界之後建立的大網絡

was a network for the transportation of matter.

是運送物質的。

In the developing world, we would hope

在發展中國家，我們希望

to reach millions of people with better vaccines,

讓眾多的人使用更好的疫苗，

reach them with better medication.

運送更好的藥物。

It would give us an unfair advantage against battling

這樣一來，我們在

HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and other epidemics.

對抗艾滋病毒，肺結核和流行病擁有極大的優勢。

Over time, we would hope it would become

隨著時間推移，我們希望它會成為

a new platform for economic transactions,

經濟交易的新平台，

lifting millions of people out of poverty.

帶領千千萬萬的人脫貧。

In the developed world and the emerging world,

無論是已發展和發展中的地方，

we would hope it would become a new mode

我們都希望這能成為

of transportation that could help make our cities

新的交通模式，因而令我們的生活

more livable.

更適合居住。

So for those that still believe that this is science fiction,

對於那些仍然認為這是科學小說的人，

I firmly say to you that it is not.

我強烈地像你們說：不是。

We do need to engage, though,

我們卻要參與，

in social fiction to make it happen.

與社會小說中，去令這發生。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）