TED2014
Will Marshall: Tiny satellites show us the Earth as it changes in near-real-time
威爾．馬修: 微型衛星讓我們幾乎能同步看到地球變動
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衛星影像透過隨時可從網路取得幾乎能看到每個街角的精細影像，讓我們對地球的認識帶來劃時代的變革。但是「星球實驗室」的威爾．馬修說，我們可以透過「變小」來做得更好、更快速。他向大家介紹他的微型衛星──不超過10X10X30公分──在發射衛星群的同時，也能得到每天更新且高解析度的全球影像。
Will Marshall - Space scientist
At Planet, Will Marshall leads overall strategy for commercializing new geospatial data and analytics that are disrupting agriculture, mapping, energy, the environment and other vertical markets. Full bio
At Planet, Will Marshall leads overall strategy for commercializing new geospatial data and analytics that are disrupting agriculture, mapping, energy, the environment and other vertical markets. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:12
The Earth needs no introduction.
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地球不需介紹，
00:15
It needs no introduction in part
because the Apollo 17 astronauts,
because the Apollo 17 astronauts,
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有部分原因是阿波羅17號的太空人
00:20
when they were hurtling
around the moon in 1972,
around the moon in 1972,
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在1972年快速繞著月球時，
00:23
took this iconic image.
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拍下這張象徵性的照片，
00:27
It galvanized a whole
generation of human beings
generation of human beings
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這照片振奮了整個世代的人類，
00:30
to realize that we're on
Spaceship Earth,
Spaceship Earth,
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讓我們了解自己是生活在
「地球號太空船」上，
「地球號太空船」上，
00:33
fragile and finite as it is,
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它容易受損且資源有限，
00:35
and that we need
to take care of it.
to take care of it.
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我們得要保護好它。
00:37
But while this picture
is beautiful, it's static,
is beautiful, it's static,
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儘管這張照片很漂亮，
不過它是靜止的，
不過它是靜止的，
00:40
and the Earth is constantly changing.
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而地球卻是不斷地在改變。
00:43
It's changing on days' time
scales with human activity.
scales with human activity.
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它是伴隨人類的活動逐日在改變。
00:46
And the satellite imagery we
have of it today is old.
have of it today is old.
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我們現今擁有的
衛星照片已經過時了，
衛星照片已經過時了，
00:49
Typically, years old.
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而且已經過時好幾年了。
00:52
And that's important because
you can't fix what you can't see.
you can't fix what you can't see.
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這很重要，因為你無法
修補看不到的東西，
修補看不到的東西，
00:56
What we'd ideally want is images
of the whole planet every day.
of the whole planet every day.
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理想上我們要的是
整個地球每天的影像，
整個地球每天的影像，
01:01
So, what's standing in our way?
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那麼有什麼事會妨礙我們呢？
01:03
What's the problem?
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問題出在哪裡？
01:05
This is the problem:
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這就是問題：
01:07
Satellites are big, expensive
and they're slow.
and they're slow.
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人造衛星既大又貴，而且很緩慢。
01:12
This one weighs three tons.
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這一個重達3噸、
01:14
It's six meters tall, four meters wide.
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6公尺高、4公尺寬，
01:17
It took up the entire fairing
of a rocket just to launch it.
of a rocket just to launch it.
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光是發射衛星就需要
整整一枚火箭的酬載燃料，
整整一枚火箭的酬載燃料，
01:20
One satellite, one rocket.
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「一顆衛星、一枚火箭」，
01:22
It cost 855 million dollars.
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花上8億5千5百萬美金。
01:25
Satellites like these have
done an amazing job
done an amazing job
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像這樣的衛星大大地幫助我們
01:27
at helping us to understand our planet.
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瞭解我們的星球。
01:30
But if we want to understand
it much more regularly,
it much more regularly,
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可是假使我們想要更有規律地掌握地球，
01:34
we need lots of satellites,
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我們需要有大量的人工衛星，
01:36
and this model isn't scalable.
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而這種衛星不能大規模製造。
01:38
So me and my friends,
we started Planet Labs
we started Planet Labs
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因此我和朋友
成立了「星球實驗室」，
成立了「星球實驗室」，
01:40
to make satellites ultra-compact
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要做出極度緊密、
01:42
and small and highly capable.
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小巧又非常有用的衛星。
01:44
I'm going to show you what
our satellite looks like:
our satellite looks like:
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請看我們製作的衛星長什麼模樣，
01:52
This is our satellite.
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這就是我們的衛星。
這不是一個等比例模型，
01:54
This is not a scale model,
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01:56
this is the real size.
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這是實際大小，
01:58
It's 10 by 10 by 30 centimeters,
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體積是10X10X30公分、
02:00
it weighs four kilograms,
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重達4公斤，
我們配載了最新、最棒的
電子零件和感應系統
電子零件和感應系統
02:03
and we've stuffed the latest
and greatest electronics
and greatest electronics
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02:05
and sensor systems into
this little package
this little package
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在這個小盒子裡面，
02:07
so that even though this is really small,
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即使這真的非常小巧，
02:09
this can take pictures 10 times the
resolution of the big satellite here,
resolution of the big satellite here,
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也能拍攝出比這個大衛星
高10倍解析度的照片，
高10倍解析度的照片，
02:14
even though it weighs one
thousandth of the mass.
thousandth of the mass.
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即使它的質量只有大衛星的千分之一。
02:19
And we call this satellite
"Dove" — Thank you.
"Dove" — Thank you.
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我們稱這個衛星為「鴿子」。謝謝！
02:23
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
02:25
We call this satellite "Dove,"
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我們稱這顆衛星「鴿子」，
02:27
and we call it "Dove" because
satellites are typically named
satellites are typically named
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因為衛星通常是以鳥類來命名，
02:30
after birds, but normally birds of prey:
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不過通常是猛禽性鳥類，
02:32
like Eagle, Hawk, Swoop,
Kill, I don't know,
Kill, I don't know,
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像是大鵰、老鷹、飛撲、獵殺…等等，
02:35
Kestrel, these sort of things.
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或是紅隼這一類的東西。
02:37
But ours have a
humanitarian mission,
humanitarian mission,
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不過我們的衛星有著
人道的使命，
人道的使命，
02:39
so we wanted to call them Doves.
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所以我們想稱為「鴿子」。
02:41
And we haven't just
built them, though.
built them, though.
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而且我們不只是製造它們而已，
02:43
We've launched them.
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我們還發射它們，
02:44
And not just one, but many.
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不只一顆而是很多顆。
這一切的起源來自於我們的車庫。
02:50
It all started in our garage.
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02:52
Yes, we built our first satellite
prototype in our garage.
prototype in our garage.
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沒錯！我們在車庫裡
打造了第一顆衛星的原型，
打造了第一顆衛星的原型，
02:55
Now, this is pretty normal for a
Silicon Valley company that we are,
Silicon Valley company that we are,
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對我們這種矽谷公司
來說這很普遍，
來說這很普遍，
02:58
but we believe it's the first time
for a space company.
for a space company.
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不過我們相信對太空
科技公司來說是頭一遭，
科技公司來說是頭一遭，
03:01
And that's not the only trick
we learned from Silicon Valley.
we learned from Silicon Valley.
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而且這不是我們從
矽谷學來的唯一訣竅。
矽谷學來的唯一訣竅。
03:05
We rapidly prototype our satellites.
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我們很快就打造出衛星原型，
03:08
We use "release early,
release often" on our software.
release often" on our software.
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我們的軟體採用
「早發布、常發布」原則。
「早發布、常發布」原則。
03:11
And we take a different
risk approach.
risk approach.
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還有我們使用少見的冒險方法，
03:13
We take them outside and test them.
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我們到外面做測試，
03:15
We even put satellites in space
just to test the satellites,
just to test the satellites,
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甚至把衛星放到外太空，
就為了做測試，
就為了做測試，
03:18
and we've learned to manufacture
our satellites at scale.
our satellites at scale.
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我們也學會了大規模製造衛星，
03:21
We've used modern production techniques
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我們採用了先進的製造技術，
03:23
so we can build large numbers of them,
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因此可以製造大量的衛星，
03:25
I think for the first time.
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這應該是史上頭一回。
03:28
We call it agile aerospace,
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我們管它叫靈活的太空產業，
03:31
and that's what's enabled us to put
so much capability into this little box.
so much capability into this little box.
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這是讓我們能在這個小盒子裡
配置如此強大性能的原因。
配置如此強大性能的原因。
03:36
Now, what has bonded
our team over the years
our team over the years
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這麼多年來讓我們團隊
凝聚在一起的理由
凝聚在一起的理由
03:41
is the idea of democratizing
access to satellite information.
access to satellite information.
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是讓衛星資訊取得普及化的想法。
03:46
In fact, the founders of our
company, Chris, Robbie and I,
company, Chris, Robbie and I,
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實際上我們公司的創辦人
克里斯、羅比還有我，
克里斯、羅比還有我，
03:49
we met over 15 years ago
at the United Nations
at the United Nations
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15年前就在聯合國裡認識了，
03:51
when they were hosting a conference
about exactly that question:
about exactly that question:
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當時他們主持的研討會主題就叫做
03:54
How do you use satellites
to help humanity?
to help humanity?
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你如何利用衛星來幫助人類？
03:56
How do you use satellites to help
people in developing countries
people in developing countries
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你如何利用衛星幫助
在開發中國家的人民
或是面臨氣候變遷問題的百姓？
或是面臨氣候變遷問題的百姓？
03:57
or with climate change?
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03:59
And this is what has bonded us.
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就是這些事情把我們凝聚起來的。
04:02
Our entire team is passionate about
using satellites to help humanity.
using satellites to help humanity.
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我們整個團隊非常熱衷於
利用衛星造福全人類，
利用衛星造福全人類，
04:06
You could say
we're space geeks,
we're space geeks,
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你可以說我們是太空怪胎，
04:08
but not only do we care
about what's up there,
about what's up there,
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但我們不只關心上面（太空）
發生事情，
發生事情，
04:11
we care about what's down here, too.
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我們也關心發生在（太空）
下面的事情。
下面的事情。
04:13
I'm going to show you a video
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我打算讓你們看一段影片，
04:15
from just four weeks ago
of two of our satellites
of two of our satellites
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是四個禮拜前我們的兩顆衛星
04:17
being launched from the
International Space Station.
International Space Station.
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從國際太空站發射的景象。
04:20
This is not an animation,
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這不是動畫，
04:22
this is a video taken by the astronaut
looking out of the window.
looking out of the window.
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是太空人拍攝窗外的影片。
04:25
It gives you a bit of a sense of
scale of our two satellites.
scale of our two satellites.
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會讓你大致瞭解這兩顆衛星的大小，
04:28
It's like some of the
smallest satellites ever
smallest satellites ever
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是目前最小的人造衛星之一，
04:30
are being launched from
the biggest satellite ever.
the biggest satellite ever.
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並從史上最大的衛星發射出。
04:33
And right at the end, the
solar array glints in the sun.
solar array glints in the sun.
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片尾照到了在太陽裡
閃爍的太陽能光線，
閃爍的太陽能光線，
04:35
It's really cool. Wait for it.
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這真的酷斃了！再等一下！
04:38
Boom! Yeah. It's the money shot.
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碰！好耶！這是能賣錢的照片！
04:41
(Laughter)
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（笑聲）
04:43
So we didn't just launch
two of them like this,
two of them like this,
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所以我們不只發射了
2顆這樣的衛星，
2顆這樣的衛星，
04:46
we launched 28 of them.
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我們發射了28顆衛星，
04:48
It's the largest constellation of
Earth-imaging satellites in human history,
Earth-imaging satellites in human history,
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這是史上拍攝地球影像
最大的衛星星系，
最大的衛星星系，
04:52
and it's going to provide a
completely radical new data set
completely radical new data set
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這將會帶給我們
04:55
about our changing planet.
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地球變化極重要且嶄新的資料。
04:57
But that's just the beginning.
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不過這只是個開頭，
04:59
You see, we're going to launch
more than 100 of these satellites
more than 100 of these satellites
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我們明年打算要再發射
05:02
like these over the
course of the next year.
course of the next year.
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超過100個這樣的人造衛星，
05:05
It's going to be the largest constellation
of satellites in human history.
of satellites in human history.
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這將會成為人類史上
最大的衛星星系。
最大的衛星星系。
05:08
And this is what it's going to do:
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它們要做的事情是
05:10
Acting in a single-orbit plane that
stays fixed with respect to the sun,
stays fixed with respect to the sun,
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固定跟著太陽在
單一軌道面上運動，
單一軌道面上運動，
05:13
the Earth rotates underneath.
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地球在人工衛星底下繞轉，
05:15
They're all cameras pointed down,
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它們都有朝下拍攝的鏡頭，
05:17
and they slowly scan across as
the Earth rotates underneath.
the Earth rotates underneath.
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當地球在下方轉動時，
它們會慢慢地掃描整個地球。
它們會慢慢地掃描整個地球。
05:20
The Earth rotates every 24 hours,
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地球每24小時轉動一週，
05:22
so we scan every point on the
planet every 24 hours.
planet every 24 hours.
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因此每24小時我們可以再次掃描
地球上的任何一點。
地球上的任何一點。
05:25
It's a line scanner for the planet.
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這是地球的線性掃描器。
05:28
We don't take a picture of
anywhere on the planet every day,
anywhere on the planet every day,
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我們並沒有每天拍攝
地球上的所有角落，
地球上的所有角落，
05:31
we take a picture of every single
place on the planet every day.
place on the planet every day.
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我們每天拍攝地球上
每個單一地點。
每個單一地點。
05:34
Even though we launched these
just a couple of weeks ago,
just a couple of weeks ago,
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即使是幾個星期之前
我們才發射了這些衛星，
我們才發射了這些衛星，
05:37
we've already got some initial
imagery from the satellites
imagery from the satellites
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我們已經得到一些最新的影像，
05:40
and I'm going to show it
publicly for the first time right now.
publicly for the first time right now.
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現在是首次公開發表。
05:43
This is the very first picture
taken by our satellite.
taken by our satellite.
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這是我們的衛星
所拍攝的第一張照片，
所拍攝的第一張照片，
05:46
It happened to be over
UC-Davis' campus
UC-Davis' campus
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當我們開啟這些相機的時候，
05:48
in California when we
turned the camera on.
turned the camera on.
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剛好是在加州的
加大戴維斯分校上空。
加大戴維斯分校上空。
05:50
But what's even cooler is when
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不過更棒的是
05:52
we compare it to the previous
latest image of that area,
latest image of that area,
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我們拿來跟這個地區
最近一次的照片做比較，
最近一次的照片做比較，
05:55
which was taken many months ago.
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那已經是好幾個月之前拍的了。
05:57
And the image on the left
is from our satellite,
is from our satellite,
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而左邊的照片是我們的衛星拍攝的，
06:00
and we see buildings are being built.
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可以看到建築物正在搭蓋。
06:02
The general point is that we will be able
to track urban growth as it happens
to track urban growth as it happens
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重點是我們能追蹤都市成長的變化，
06:06
around the whole world
in all cities, every day.
in all cities, every day.
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全世界所有的城市每一天的變動，
06:10
Water as well.
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追蹤水文的變化也行。
06:11
Thank you.
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謝謝！
06:13
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
06:14
We'll be able to see
the extent of all water bodies
the extent of all water bodies
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我們每天都能看到全球的水體，
06:17
around the whole world every day
and help water security.
and help water security.
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並幫助保護水資源。
06:20
From water security
to food security.
to food security.
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水資源的安全之後是
確保糧食安全，
確保糧食安全，
06:22
We'll see crops as they
grow in all the fields
grow in all the fields
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我們會看到農作物
在田野裡生長的情形，
在田野裡生長的情形，
06:25
in every farmer's field around
the planet every day.
the planet every day.
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每天地球上每位農人的田地都看得到，
06:28
and help them to improve crop yield.
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並且幫助他們改善糧食產量。
06:31
This is a beautiful image that was taken
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這張美麗的照片是
06:33
just a few hours ago when the
satellite was flying over Argentina.
satellite was flying over Argentina.
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幾個鐘頭前衛星飛越
阿根廷上空時才拍到的。
阿根廷上空時才拍到的。
06:37
The general point is
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重點是這份資料可能會有
成千上百種方式應用，
成千上百種方式應用，
06:39
there are probably hundreds and
thousands of applications of this data,
thousands of applications of this data,
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06:42
I've mentioned a few, but there's others:
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我已經說了一些，但是還有其他的，
06:44
deforestation, the ice caps melting.
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像森林除伐、冰山溶化，
06:46
We can track all of these things,
every tree on the planet every day.
every tree on the planet every day.
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我們能追蹤所有這類的事情，
每天在地球上的每棵樹都行。
每天在地球上的每棵樹都行。
06:49
If you took the difference between
today's image and yesterday's image,
today's image and yesterday's image,
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如果你拍下今天和昨天景像的差異，
06:52
you'd see much of the world news —
you'd see floods and fires and earthquakes.
you'd see floods and fires and earthquakes.
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你就會看見非常多的世界新聞，
像是水災、火災和地震。
像是水災、火災和地震。
06:56
And we have decided, therefore, that the
best thing that we could do with our data
best thing that we could do with our data
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因此我們決定了，
若要讓資料發揮到最大的用處
若要讓資料發揮到最大的用處
07:00
is to ensure universal access to it.
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就是確保全世界都能取得這些資料，
07:03
We want to ensure everyone can see it.
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我們要確保每個人都能看到。
07:05
Thank you. (Applause)
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謝謝！（掌聲）
07:08
We want to empower NGOs and
companies and scientists and journalists
companies and scientists and journalists
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我們要增加非政府組織、
企業、科學家和記者的力量，
企業、科學家和記者的力量，
07:12
to be able to answer the questions
that they have about the planet.
that they have about the planet.
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讓他們能解答有關地球的問題。
07:16
We want to enable the developer community
to run their apps on our data.
to run their apps on our data.
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我們想讓研發人員們可以在我們的
資料上運用他們的應用程式，
資料上運用他們的應用程式，
07:21
In short, we want to democratize access
to information about our planet.
to information about our planet.
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簡言之，我們希望讓大家都能
得到有關我們星球的資料。
得到有關我們星球的資料。
07:25
Which brings me back to this.
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這讓我回到這一點。
07:28
You see, this will be an entirely
new global data set.
new global data set.
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你知道這將會是嶄新的全球資料庫，
07:32
And we believe that together,
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而且我們相信只要你我一起來，
07:34
we can help to take care
of our Spaceship Earth.
of our Spaceship Earth.
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我們就能幫忙照顧我們的
「地球號太空船」。
「地球號太空船」。
07:39
And what I would like to leave
you with is the following question:
you with is the following question:
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我想要留給你們這個問題，
07:42
If you had access to imagery of the
whole planet every single day,
whole planet every single day,
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如果你曾取得整個地球每一天的影像，
07:47
what would you do with that data?
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你們會怎麼利用這些資料呢？
07:48
What problems would you solve?
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你會解決什麼樣的難題呢？
07:50
What exploration would you do?
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你會探索什麼呢？
07:52
Well, I invite you to come
and explore with us.
and explore with us.
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邀請你與我們一起探索！
07:54
Thank you very much.
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非常謝謝你們！
07:56
(Applause)
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（掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Will Marshall - Space scientistAt Planet, Will Marshall leads overall strategy for commercializing new geospatial data and analytics that are disrupting agriculture, mapping, energy, the environment and other vertical markets.
Why you should listen
Will Marshall is the co-founder and CEO of Planet. Prior to Planet, he was a Scientist at NASA/USRA where he worked on missions "LADEE" and "LCROSS," served as co-principal investigator on PhoneSat, and was the technical lead on research projects in space debris remediation.
Marshall received his PhD in Physics from the University of Oxford and his Masters in Physics with Space Science and Technology from the University of Leicester. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at George Washington University and Harvard.
Will Marshall | Speaker | TED.com