for the first time in over 50 years

去年十月, 在海地

last October.

50多年來首次報導

There was no way to predict

有霍亂。

how far it would spread through water supplies

沒有辦法預測由供水系統中

and how bad the situation would get.

它會傳播多遠，

And not knowing where help was needed

和情況會的嚴重程度。

always ensured that help was in short supply

往往令在最需要支援的地區

in the areas that needed it most.

最缺乏支援及協助

We've gotten good at predicting and preparing for storms

原因在於無法即時得知最需要協助的地區

before they take innocent lives

儘管我們已經得到了很好的預測風暴和準備，

and cause irreversible damage,

及時阻止無辜生命的犧牲，

but we still can't do that with water,

以及防止無法彌補的損壞

and here's why.

但我們仍然不能預測水質的監測上

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

原因如下。

you need a trained technician,

現在，如果你想在現場測試水，

expensive equipment like this,

你需要一個訓練有素的技術員，

and you have to wait about a day

這樣昂貴的設備，

for chemical reactions to take place and provide results.

你必須等待大約一天

It's too slow

才得到化學反應並提供結果。

to get a picture of conditions on the ground

要偵測到

before they change,

地面水質被改變之前的狀態

too expensive to implement

實在是太慢了

in all the places that require testing.

而且要跑完全部的測試

And it ignores the fact that, in the meanwhile,

成本實在是過於昂貴。

people still need to drink water.

它忽略了一個事實是

Most of the information that we collected on the cholera outbreak

在測試的同時人們仍然需要喝水。

didn't come from testing water;

我們的大多數收集霍亂疫情的信息，

it came from forms like this,

不是來自測試水;

which documented all the people

而是來自這樣的形式，

we failed to help.

記錄了所有

Countless lives have been saved

我們沒有幫助到的人。

by canaries in coalmines --

煤礦中的金絲雀

a simple and invaluable way

已挽救了無數人的生命 --

for miners to know whether they're safe.

用一個簡單和寶貴的的方式

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

讓礦工們知道他們是否安全。

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

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\\

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

與一些我所見過最勤勞和最傑出的人工作一起解決。

one that can be used

我們認為有一個簡單的解決這個問題 --

by people who face conditions like this everyday.

一個可以讓常常面對

It's in its early stages,

類似這樣問題的人使用的方法。

but this is what it looks like right now.

這是在其早期階段，

We call it the Water Canary.

這是現在的樣子。

It's a fast, cheap device

我們把它稱為水金絲雀。

that answers an important question:

這是一個快速，廉價的設備，

Is this water contaminated?

可以回答一個重要的問題：

It doesn't require any special training.

這水是否污染呢？

And instead of waiting for chemical reactions to take place,

它不需要任何特殊的訓練。

it uses light.

亦不是等待化學反應發生，

That means there's no waiting

它使用光。

for chemical reactions to take place,

這意味著不用等待

no need to use reagents that can run out

任何化學反應發生，

and no need to be an expert

無需使用試劑便可以運作，

to get actionable information.

不需要成為專家

To test water, you simply insert a sample

便可獲得可用的訊息。

and, within seconds,

要測試水，只需插入一個樣品，

it either displays a red light, indicating contaminated water,

在幾秒鐘內，

or a green light, indicating the sample is safe.

它會顯示紅燈，表明水被污染，

This will make it possible

或顯示綠燈，表明樣品是安全的。

for anyone to collect life-saving information

這將有可能

and to monitor water quality conditions as they unfold.

使任何人都可以收集拯救生命的訊息

We're also, on top of that,

和監測水質條件，基於情況變化。

integrating wireless networking

最重要的是，我們還在

into an affordable device

整合成一個負擔得起的

with GPS and GSM.

用GPS和GSM

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

的無線網絡設備。

to be mapped in real time.

這也意味著每次的讀取可以自動實時傳輸到伺服器

With enough users,

進一步繪出一同步的地圖上。

maps like this will make it possible

有了足夠的用戶，

to take preventive action,

這樣的地圖

containing hazards before they turn into emergencies

能夠及時採取預防措施，

that take years to recover from.

不需要等到好幾年的時間才可復原的嚴重汙染發生

And then, instead of taking days

就能夠先進一步的控制並防止其惡化

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

然後，不是要等待數天

it can happen automatically.

才能將這個信息傳播到最需要的人民處，

We've seen how distributed networks,

它可以自動發生。

big data and information

我們已經看到了分佈式的網絡，

can transform society.

很多的數據和訊息

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

可以改造社會。

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

我認為是時候我們將它們應用到水上。

and to open-source the hardware

我們的目標是在明年讓水金絲雀準備實際被應用

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

並且開放其硬體開發

so we can tackle this problem together.

使任何人都可以作出貢獻的發展和評價，

Thank you.

讓我們可以一起解決這個問題。

(Applause)

謝謝。