Sonaar Luthra: Meet the Water Canary

譯者: Ana Choi 審譯者: Sean Chuang

Cholera was reported in Haiti

去年十月, 在海地

for the first time in over 50 years

50多年來首次報導

last October.

有霍亂。

There was no way to predict

沒有辦法預測由供水系統中

how far it would spread through water supplies

它會傳播多遠，

and how bad the situation would get.

和情況會的嚴重程度。

And not knowing where help was needed

往往令在最需要支援的地區

always ensured that help was in short supply

最缺乏支援及協助

in the areas that needed it most.

原因在於無法即時得知最需要協助的地區

We've gotten good at predicting and preparing for storms

儘管我們已經得到了很好的預測風暴和準備，

before they take innocent lives

及時阻止無辜生命的犧牲，

and cause irreversible damage,

以及防止無法彌補的損壞

but we still can't do that with water,

但我們仍然不能預測水質的監測上

and here's why.

原因如下。

Right now, if you want to test water in the field,

現在，如果你想在現場測試水，

you need a trained technician,

你需要一個訓練有素的技術員，

expensive equipment like this,

這樣昂貴的設備，

and you have to wait about a day

你必須等待大約一天

for chemical reactions to take place and provide results.

才得到化學反應並提供結果。

It's too slow

要偵測到

to get a picture of conditions on the ground

地面水質被改變之前的狀態

before they change,

實在是太慢了

too expensive to implement

而且要跑完全部的測試

in all the places that require testing.

成本實在是過於昂貴。

And it ignores the fact that, in the meanwhile,

它忽略了一個事實是

people still need to drink water.

在測試的同時人們仍然需要喝水。

Most of the information that we collected on the cholera outbreak

我們的大多數收集霍亂疫情的信息，

didn't come from testing water;

不是來自測試水;

it came from forms like this,

而是來自這樣的形式，

which documented all the people

記錄了所有

we failed to help.

我們沒有幫助到的人。

Countless lives have been saved

煤礦中的金絲雀

by canaries in coalmines --

已挽救了無數人的生命 --

a simple and invaluable way

用一個簡單和寶貴的的方式

for miners to know whether they're safe.

讓礦工們知道他們是否安全。

I've been inspired by that simplicity as I've been working on this problem

我一直被這種簡單啟發，並且我針對目前水質偵測器這個問題上\

with some of the most hardworking and brilliant people I've ever known.

與一些我所見過最勤勞和最傑出的人工作一起解決。

We think there's a simpler solution to this problem --

我們認為有一個簡單的解決這個問題 --

one that can be used

一個可以讓常常面對

by people who face conditions like this everyday.

類似這樣問題的人使用的方法。

It's in its early stages,

這是在其早期階段，

but this is what it looks like right now.

這是現在的樣子。

We call it the Water Canary.

我們把它稱為水金絲雀。

It's a fast, cheap device

這是一個快速，廉價的設備，

that answers an important question:

可以回答一個重要的問題：

Is this water contaminated?

這水是否污染呢？

It doesn't require any special training.

它不需要任何特殊的訓練。

And instead of waiting for chemical reactions to take place,

亦不是等待化學反應發生，

it uses light.

它使用光。

That means there's no waiting

這意味著不用等待

for chemical reactions to take place,

任何化學反應發生，

no need to use reagents that can run out

無需使用試劑便可以運作，

and no need to be an expert

不需要成為專家

to get actionable information.

便可獲得可用的訊息。

To test water, you simply insert a sample

要測試水，只需插入一個樣品，

and, within seconds,

在幾秒鐘內，

it either displays a red light, indicating contaminated water,

它會顯示紅燈，表明水被污染，

or a green light, indicating the sample is safe.

或顯示綠燈，表明樣品是安全的。

This will make it possible

這將有可能

for anyone to collect life-saving information

使任何人都可以收集拯救生命的訊息

and to monitor water quality conditions as they unfold.

和監測水質條件，基於情況變化。

We're also, on top of that,

最重要的是，我們還在

integrating wireless networking

整合成一個負擔得起的

into an affordable device

用GPS和GSM

with GPS and GSM.

的無線網絡設備。

What that means is that each reading can be automatically transmitted to servers

這也意味著每次的讀取可以自動實時傳輸到伺服器

to be mapped in real time.

進一步繪出一同步的地圖上。

With enough users,

有了足夠的用戶，

maps like this will make it possible

這樣的地圖

to take preventive action,

能夠及時採取預防措施，

containing hazards before they turn into emergencies

不需要等到好幾年的時間才可復原的嚴重汙染發生

that take years to recover from.

就能夠先進一步的控制並防止其惡化

And then, instead of taking days

然後，不是要等待數天

to disseminate this information to the people who need it most,

才能將這個信息傳播到最需要的人民處，

it can happen automatically.

它可以自動發生。

We've seen how distributed networks,

我們已經看到了分佈式的網絡，

big data and information

很多的數據和訊息

can transform society.

可以改造社會。

I think it's time for us to apply them to water.

我認為是時候我們將它們應用到水上。

Our goal over the next year is to get Water Canary ready for the field

我們的目標是在明年讓水金絲雀準備實際被應用

and to open-source the hardware

並且開放其硬體開發

so that anyone can contribute to the development and the evaluation,

使任何人都可以作出貢獻的發展和評價，

so we can tackle this problem together.

讓我們可以一起解決這個問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

(掌聲)