ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sonaar Luthra -
Sonaar Luthra is the creator of Water Canary, a water-testing device that collects real-time water-quality data from the field.

Why you should listen

Sonaar Luthra was a writer and educator when he enrolled in NYU's famed  Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) -- a breeding ground for cross-disciplinary thinking. He tells the TED Blog what happened next:

"I wanted to come up with some way of becoming what I was calling an 'urban planner for the global village.' And ... I fell in love with circuitry and with making tangible objects that had real functionality. Next thing I knew, I found myself in a class called Design for UNICEF, taught by Clay Shirky in association with UNICEF’s Innovations Lab.

"I wanted to see what was possible with water, and I was lucky to have an incredible team and the support of faculty that were willing to take on such a huge challenge. We started off as novices but we all became water experts in the process."

Read the TED Blog's full Q&A with Sonaar Luthra, "Waterwise" >>

More profile about the speaker
Sonaar Luthra | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Sonaar Luthra: Meet the Water Canary

Sonaar Luthra: “水质金丝雀”

Filmed:
440,253 views

灾难过后,我们如何判断当地的水质是否符合安全饮用的标准?目前的检测方法既费时又复杂,而由此带来的延迟可能是致命的,正如2010年海地地震之后霍乱爆发时的情况一样。TED人物索纳·卢瑟那简单介绍了他设计的一个可以快速检测水质的小工具——水质金丝雀。
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Sonaar Luthra is the creator of Water Canary, a water-testing device that collects real-time water-quality data from the field. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Cholera霍乱 was reported报道 in Haiti海地
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去年十月(2010年10月)
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for the first time in over 50 years年份
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海地出现了50年以来的
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last October十月.
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首次霍乱
00:21
There was no way to predict预测
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当时没有任何方法能够预测
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how far it would spread传播 through通过 water supplies耗材
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霍乱将通过水源传播多远
00:26
and how bad the situation情况 would get.
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以及灾情会恶化到什么程度
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And not knowing会心 where help was needed需要
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不知道哪里需要帮助
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always ensured确保 that help was in short supply供应
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就意味着不能向最需要的地区
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in the areas that needed需要 it most.
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提供足够的帮助
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We've我们已经 gotten得到 good at predicting预测 and preparing准备 for storms风暴
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我们虽然很擅长预报和防御暴风雨
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before they take innocent无辜 lives生活
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避免造成人员伤亡
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and cause原因 irreversible不可逆转 damage损伤,
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或不可挽回的损失
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but we still can't do that with water,
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但是在水质监测方面我们还达不到这种程度
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and here's这里的 why.
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我来解释一下原因
00:48
Right now, if you want to test测试 water in the field领域,
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目前,如果你想检测一个地区的水质
00:50
you need a trained熟练 technician技术员,
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需要一名接受过专业训练的人员
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expensive昂贵 equipment设备 like this,
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像这样昂贵的设备
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and you have to wait about a day
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然后再等将近一天的时间
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for chemical化学 reactions反应 to take place地点 and provide提供 results结果.
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等那些化学反应结束之后才能得到最后的结果
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It's too slow
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这过程太慢了
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to get a picture图片 of conditions条件 on the ground地面
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因为在拿到水质检测报告之前
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before they change更改,
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当地水质可能就发生变化了
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too expensive昂贵 to implement实行
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同时在所有需要进行水质检测的地区进行这种检测
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in all the places地方 that require要求 testing测试.
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成本太高了
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And it ignores忽略 the fact事实 that, in the meanwhile与此同时,
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而且这还忽略了一个事实:
01:11
people still need to drink water.
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进行水质检测的时候,人们还是需要饮水
01:13
Most of the information信息 that we collected on the cholera霍乱 outbreak暴发
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我们收集到的大多数关于霍乱爆发的信息
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didn't come from testing测试 water;
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并不来自水质检测
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it came来了 from forms形式 like this,
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而是来自这样的表格
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which哪一个 documented记录 all the people
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它显示了有多少人
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we failed失败 to help.
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我们没有来得及帮助到的人
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Countless无数 lives生活 have been saved保存
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煤矿里无数生命都
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by canaries金丝雀 in coalmines煤矿 --
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被矿里的金丝雀挽救了
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a simple简单 and invaluable无价 way
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这是一种简单但有效的方法
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for miners矿工 to know whether是否 they're safe安全.
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矿工们可以通过金丝雀得知他们是否处于安全地带
01:32
I've been inspired启发 by that simplicity简单 as I've been working加工 on this problem问题
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这个简单的理念启发了我
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with some of the most hardworking用功 and brilliant辉煌 people I've ever known已知.
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当时我正和一些特别勤奋、聪明的同事一起想办法解决水质检测问题
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We think there's a simpler简单 solution to this problem问题 --
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我们认为这个问题有一种更为简单的解决方案–
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one that can be used
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一种可以随时随地
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by people who face面对 conditions条件 like this everyday每天.
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由受灾居民操作的水质检测工具
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It's in its early stages阶段,
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这个产品还处于研制阶段
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but this is what it looks容貌 like right now.
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目前它看上去是这个样子的
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We call it the Water Canary加纳利.
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我们叫它“水质金丝雀”
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It's a fast快速, cheap低廉 device设备
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它是一个快速见效而且便宜的设备
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that answers答案 an important重要 question:
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同时能解决一个重要问题:
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Is this water contaminated污染?
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这里的水是否受到了污染?
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It doesn't require要求 any special特别 training训练.
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它不需要操作者受过任何特别培训
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And instead代替 of waiting等候 for chemical化学 reactions反应 to take place地点,
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也不需要等任何化学反应的结果
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it uses使用 light.
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它使用光来进行检测
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That means手段 there's no waiting等候
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这意味着不需要等待
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for chemical化学 reactions反应 to take place地点,
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任何化学反应的结果
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no need to use reagents试剂 that can run out
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也不需要使用那些总会被耗尽的化学试剂
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and no need to be an expert专家
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不需要操作者是水质检测专家
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to get actionable information信息.
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就能获得很有价值的信息
02:17
To test测试 water, you simply只是 insert a sample样品
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要检测水质,你只需要把水样放进去
02:19
and, within seconds,
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等待几秒钟
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it either displays显示器 a red light, indicating说明 contaminated污染 water,
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如果红灯亮,代表水样受到污染
02:24
or a green绿色 light, indicating说明 the sample样品 is safe安全.
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如果绿灯亮,代表这里的水是安全的
02:26
This will make it possible可能
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这一发明将使每个人
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for anyone任何人 to collect搜集 life-saving救生 information信息
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都能获得可以挽救自己生命的信息
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and to monitor监控 water quality质量 conditions条件 as they unfold展开.
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并且可以监测水质的变化
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We're also, on top最佳 of that,
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除此之外,
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integrating整合 wireless无线 networking联网
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我们还在它顶部安装了无线网络
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into an affordable实惠 device设备
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这样这个并不贵的设备就有了
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with GPS全球定位系统 and GSMGSM.
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GPS和GSM功能
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What that means手段 is that each reading can be automatically自动 transmitted发送 to servers服务器
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这意味着所有的检测数据都会被自动发送到总服务器
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to be mapped映射 in real真实 time.
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并形成一幅实时监测地图
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With enough足够 users用户,
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只要有足够多的使用者
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maps地图 like this will make it possible可能
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这样的监测地图就可以被用来
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to take preventive预防 action行动,
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指导水质污染防治工作
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containing hazards危害 before they turn into emergencies紧急情况
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在疫情发展到紧急情况之前就控制住它
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that take years年份 to recover恢复 from.
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否则可能需要许多年才能恢复该地的水质
03:00
And then, instead代替 of taking服用 days
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现在,不用再等好多天的时间
03:02
to disseminate传播 this information信息 to the people who need it most,
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才能把这些信息告诉最需要它的人们
03:04
it can happen发生 automatically自动.
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人们自动就会得到这些信息
03:07
We've我们已经 seen看到 how distributed分散式 networks网络,
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我们已经见识过广泛分布的网络
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big data数据 and information信息
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以及海量的数据和信息
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can transform转变 society社会.
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是如何改变我们这个社会的
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I think it's time for us to apply应用 them to water.
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我想是时候将这些技术运用到水质检测了
03:16
Our goal目标 over the next下一个 year is to get Water Canary加纳利 ready准备 for the field领域
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我们明年的目标是将“水质金丝雀”应用于实地检测
03:18
and to open-source开源 the hardware硬件
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并对硬件进行开源
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so that anyone任何人 can contribute有助于 to the development发展 and the evaluation评测,
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这样任何人都可以为设备开发和升级做出贡献
03:23
so we can tackle滑车 this problem问题 together一起.
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从而一起来解决水质监控这一问题
03:25
Thank you.
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谢谢大家
03:27
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Chen Huang
Reviewed by Ting Huang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sonaar Luthra -
Sonaar Luthra is the creator of Water Canary, a water-testing device that collects real-time water-quality data from the field.

Why you should listen

Sonaar Luthra was a writer and educator when he enrolled in NYU's famed  Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP) -- a breeding ground for cross-disciplinary thinking. He tells the TED Blog what happened next:

"I wanted to come up with some way of becoming what I was calling an 'urban planner for the global village.' And ... I fell in love with circuitry and with making tangible objects that had real functionality. Next thing I knew, I found myself in a class called Design for UNICEF, taught by Clay Shirky in association with UNICEF’s Innovations Lab.

"I wanted to see what was possible with water, and I was lucky to have an incredible team and the support of faculty that were willing to take on such a huge challenge. We started off as novices but we all became water experts in the process."

Read the TED Blog's full Q&A with Sonaar Luthra, "Waterwise" >>

More profile about the speaker
Sonaar Luthra | Speaker | TED.com