ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Raymond Wang - Inventor
Raymond Wang won the top prize in the 2015 Intel Science and Engineering Fair for his invention that circulates fresh air on planes and reduces transmission of germs between passengers.

Why you should listen

Raymond Wang is a Canadian youth innovator who is passionate about science, technology, engineering and entrepreneurship. He is one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20, and most recently, the recipient of the Gordon E. Moore award for the Top Project at the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Raymond enjoys exploring STEM and promoting global sustainability. His latest engineering innovations, including his work with aircraft cabin airflow and his inventions of the “Weather Harvester,” “Smart Knee Assistant” and "Smart Bin,” have achieved international recognition.

Raymond is enthusiastic about inspiring others to pursue STEM opportunities. He actively reaches out to the local community through camps & associations, in addition to communities around the world through YouTube & Modern Media.

Having a strong passion for sustainability, Raymond has founded Sustainable Youth Canada, a youth-led non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young people in Affiliated Regions established from coast to coast to be leaders in tackling issues with environmental and energy sustainability.

In his spare time, Raymond enjoys exploring music as both a National Youth Band clarinetist and an avid pianist. He is also a keen director of films and videos; many of his productions have been recognized at local film festivals. 

Raymond envisions himself pursuing a career in science, applying research and innovation with a business approach to do his part in bettering the world.

More profile about the speaker
Raymond Wang | Speaker | TED.com
TEDYouth 2015

Raymond Wang: How germs travel on planes -- and how we can stop them

Raymond Wang: Como os germes viajam num avião -- e como podemos evitar isso

Filmed:
1,821,024 views

Raymond Wang tem apenas 17 anos, mas já está ajudando a construir um futuro mais saudável. Usando a dinâmica dos fluidos, ele simulou num computador como o ar circula dentro de um avião. E descobriu algo bem perturbador -- quando uma pessoa espirra dentro de um avião, o fluxo do ar, na realidade, ajuda a espalhar patógenos para os outros passageiros. Wang compartilha conosco uma animação inesquecível de como um espirro viaja dentro da cabine de um avião e também nos apresenta sua solução premiada: um aparelho pequeno, em forma de leque, que aumenta o fluxo de ar fresco nos aviões e que redireciona o ar com patógenos para fora de circulação.
- Inventor
Raymond Wang won the top prize in the 2015 Intel Science and Engineering Fair for his invention that circulates fresh air on planes and reduces transmission of germs between passengers. Full bio

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

Levante a mão aqui quem
viajou de avião ano passado.
00:13
Can I get a show of hands --
0
1713
1366
00:15
how many of you in this room
have been on a plane in this past year?
1
3103
3702
00:20
That's pretty good.
2
8258
1153
Muito bom!
00:21
Well, it turns out that you
share that experience
3
9435
2885
Bem, vocês compartilham essa experiência
00:24
with more than three billion
people every year.
4
12344
2835
com mais de três bilhões
de pessoas por ano.
00:27
And when we put so many people
in all these metal tubes
5
15203
3137
E, quando colocamos tantas pessoas
dentro desses tubos de metal
00:30
that fly all over the world,
6
18364
1586
voando pelo mundo afora,
00:31
sometimes, things like this can happen
7
19974
2673
às vezes coisas desse tipo acontecem
00:34
and you get a disease epidemic.
8
22671
1887
e, aí, temos uma epidemia.
Comecei a me interessar pelo assunto
00:37
I first actually got into this topic
9
25116
1951
00:39
when I heard about the Ebola
outbreak last year.
10
27091
2632
quando ouvi falar sobre o surto
de ebola do ano passado.
E acontece que,
apesar de o ebolar se espalhar
00:41
And it turns out that,
11
29747
1460
00:43
although Ebola spreads
through these more range-limited,
12
31231
2830
por meio de secreções,
de alcance mais limitado,
00:46
large-droplet routes,
13
34085
1334
existem outras doenças
00:47
there's all these other sorts of diseases
14
35443
1978
00:49
that can be spread in the airplane cabin.
15
37445
1976
que podem se espalhar dentro de um avião.
00:51
The worst part is, when we take
a look at some of the numbers,
16
39445
3184
E o pior é que, ao olharmos
as estatísticas, é bem apavorante.
00:54
it's pretty scary.
17
42653
1413
00:56
So with H1N1,
18
44090
1760
Por exemplo, com o H1N1,
00:57
there was this guy that decided
to go on the plane
19
45874
2389
foi um cara que decidiu viajar de avião
01:00
and in the matter of a single flight
20
48287
1771
e, num único voo, espalhou a doença
para outras 17 pessoas.
01:02
actually spread the disease
to 17 other people.
21
50082
2254
01:04
And then there was this
other guy with SARS,
22
52360
2128
Depois houve um outro cara, com SARS,
01:06
who managed to go on a three-hour flight
23
54512
2102
que embarcou num voo de três horas
01:08
and spread the disease to 22 other people.
24
56638
2842
e espalhou a doença para 22 pessoas.
01:11
That's not exactly my idea
of a great superpower.
25
59504
3408
Este superpoder não é exatamente legal.
01:15
When we take a look at this,
what we also find
26
63658
2564
Vendo isso, descobrimos também
que é muito difícil fazer esse controle.
01:18
is that it's very difficult
to pre-screen for these diseases.
27
66246
2976
01:21
So when someone actually
goes on a plane,
28
69619
2091
Pois, quando alguém viaja de avião,
01:23
they could be sick
29
71734
1206
pode já estar doente,
e a doença ainda estar latente,
01:24
and they could actually
be in this latency period
30
72964
2395
01:27
in which they could actually
have the disease
31
75383
2159
ou seja, a pessoa já está doente,
mas ainda não apresenta sintomas,
01:29
but not exhibit any symptoms,
32
77566
1572
01:31
and they could, in turn,
spread the disease
33
79162
2191
podendo, assim, espalhar a doença
para os outros passageiros.
01:33
to many other people in the cabin.
34
81377
1673
01:35
How that actually works is that right now
35
83074
2082
Atualmente, o sistema funciona
com o ar vindo do topo
01:37
we've got air coming in
from the top of the cabin
36
85180
2286
01:39
and from the side of the cabin,
as you see in blue.
37
87490
2426
e da lateral da cabine,
como podem ver aqui em azul.
01:41
And then also, that air goes out
through these very efficient filters
38
89940
4202
Esse ar passa por filtros bem eficientes,
01:46
that eliminate 99.97 percent
of pathogens near the outlets.
39
94166
4548
que eliminam 99,97% dos patógenos
próximos das saídas de ar.
01:51
What happens right now, though,
40
99444
1477
Ocorre, no entanto, que temos
um padrão de fluxo de ar misto.
01:52
is that we have this
mixing airflow pattern.
41
100945
2067
Assim, se alguém espirrar,
o ar pode circular várias vezes
01:55
So if someone were to actually sneeze,
42
103036
1832
01:56
that air would get swirled
around multiple times
43
104892
2704
01:59
before it even has a chance
to go out through the filter.
44
107620
3245
antes mesmo de ter a chance
de passar pelo filtro.
02:03
So I thought: clearly, this
is a pretty serious problem.
45
111785
3213
Penso que, sem dúvida,
esse problema é muito sério.
02:07
I didn't have the money
to go out and buy a plane,
46
115022
3733
Como não tenho dinheiro
para comprar um avião,
02:10
so I decided to build a computer instead.
47
118779
2238
decidi, então, construir um computador.
02:13
It actually turns out that
with computational fluid dynamics,
48
121041
3272
Acontece que, com a dinâmica
computacional dos fluidos,
02:16
what we're able to do
is create these simulations
49
124337
2601
somos capazes de fazer simulações
02:18
that give us higher resolutions
50
126962
1794
que nos dão resoluções mais altas
02:20
than actually physically going
in and taking readings in the plane.
51
128780
3620
do que se fizéssemos leituras
dentro do próprio avião.
02:24
And so how, essentially, this works
is you would start out
52
132836
3014
E isso começou, basicamente,
com esses desenhos em 2D,
02:27
with these 2D drawings --
53
135874
1672
02:29
these are floating around
in technical papers around the Internet.
54
137570
3128
que podem ser encontrados
em trabalhos técnicos na internet.
02:32
I take that and then I put it
into this 3D-modeling software,
55
140722
2893
Pego isso e depois coloco nesse
software de modelar em 3D,
02:35
really building that 3D model.
56
143639
1779
construindo um modelo em 3D.
02:37
And then I divide that model
that I just built into these tiny pieces,
57
145442
4459
Daí, divido esse modelo que acabei
de construir em partes bem pequenas,
02:41
essentially meshing it so that
the computer can better understand it.
58
149925
3577
para compatibilizar, de modo
que o computador possa entendê-lo melhor.
02:45
And then I tell the computer where
the air goes in and out of the cabin,
59
153526
3721
Daí, informo ao computador
por onde entra e sai o ar da cabine,
02:49
throw in a bunch of physics
60
157271
1499
jogo um monte de física
02:50
and basically sit there and wait until
the computer calculates the simulation.
61
158794
4221
e, praticamente, sento e espero
o computador calcular a simulação.
Assim, o que se consegue
com a cabine convencional é isto:
02:56
So what we get, actually,
with the conventional cabin is this:
62
164015
3627
02:59
you'll notice the middle person sneezing,
63
167666
2247
vejam a pessoa do meio espirrando,
e dá-lhe "Respingo!" bem
no rosto das pessoas.
03:02
and we go "Splat!" -- it goes
right into people's faces.
64
170767
3392
03:06
It's pretty disgusting.
65
174882
1821
É bem nojento.
03:08
From the front, you'll notice
those two passengers
66
176727
2348
De frente, vemos esses dois passageiros
sentados perto do passageiro do meio,
03:11
sitting next to the central passenger
67
179099
1786
que não deve estar achando graça.
03:12
not exactly having a great time.
68
180909
1706
03:14
And when we take a look
at that from the side,
69
182639
2186
E, quando olhamos de lado,
03:16
you'll also notice those pathogens
spreading across the length of the cabin.
70
184849
3993
dá para ver os patógenos
se espalhando ao longo da cabine.
03:22
The first thing I thought was,
"This is no good."
71
190017
2350
Pensei de cara: "Isso não é nada bom".
03:24
So I actually conducted
more than 32 different simulations
72
192391
3508
Assim, fiz mais de 32 simulações
03:27
and ultimately, I came up
with this solution right here.
73
195923
3365
e, no final, cheguei a essa solução aqui.
03:31
This is what I call a -- patent pending --
Global Inlet Director.
74
199312
3516
Isso é o que chamo – patente ainda
pendente – de Global Inlet Director.
03:34
With this, we're able to reduce
pathogen transmission
75
202852
2566
Com isso, é possível reduzir a transmissão
de patógenos em cerca de 55 vezes
03:37
by about 55 times,
76
205442
1768
03:39
and increase fresh-air inhalation
by about 190 percent.
77
207234
3153
e aumentar a inalação de ar fresco
em cerca de 190%.
03:42
So how this actually works
78
210411
1604
Então, isso na verdade funciona
03:44
is we would install this piece
of composite material
79
212039
3129
com a instalação desse pedaço
de material composto
03:47
into these existing spots
that are already in the plane.
80
215192
2968
nesses lugares já existentes no avião.
Portanto, o custo da instalação é baixo,
podendo ser feita de um dia para o outro.
03:50
So it's very cost-effective to install
81
218184
2001
03:52
and we can do this directly overnight.
82
220209
1848
03:54
All we have to do is put a couple
of screws in there and you're good to go.
83
222081
3548
Tudo que temos de fazer é colocar
alguns parafusos lá e pronto.
03:57
And the results that we get
are absolutely amazing.
84
225653
2859
Os resultados que conseguimos
foram absolutamente incríveis.
04:00
Instead of having those problematic
swirling airflow patterns,
85
228536
3536
Em vez de padrões problemáticos
na circulação do fluxo do ar,
04:04
we can create these walls of air
86
232096
1742
podemos criar paredes de ar
04:05
that come down in-between the passengers
87
233862
2170
que descem entre os passageiros para criar
zonas personalizadas de respiração.
04:08
to create personalized breathing zones.
88
236056
1898
vejam que o passageiro
do meio está espirrando de novo,
04:09
So you'll notice the middle passenger
here is sneezing again,
89
237978
2985
mas, dessa vez, fomos capazes
de empurrar isso para baixo,
04:12
but this time, we're able
to effectively push that down
90
240987
2713
para os filtros, e eliminar.
04:15
to the filters for elimination.
91
243724
2713
Visto de lado, é a mesma coisa.
04:18
And same thing from the side,
92
246461
1396
04:19
you'll notice we're able to directly
push those pathogens down.
93
247881
3229
Notem que conseguimos empurrar
os patógenos diretamente para baixo.
04:23
So if you take a look again now
at the same scenario
94
251682
3494
Agora, se observarem
de novo o mesmo cenário,
04:27
but with this innovation installed,
95
255200
1689
mas com a inovação instalada,
vejam que o passageiro do meio espirra,
04:28
you'll notice the middle
passenger sneezes,
96
256913
2016
04:30
and this time, we're pushing
that straight down into the outlet
97
258953
3073
mas, dessa vez, empurramos isso
direto para baixo, para a saída,
04:34
before it gets a chance
to infect any other people.
98
262050
3721
antes que tenha a chance
de infectar uma outra pessoa.
04:37
So you'll notice the two passengers
sitting next to the middle guy
99
265795
3124
Vejam que os dois passageiros
sentados perto do cara do meio
04:40
are breathing virtually
no pathogens at all.
100
268943
2233
praticamente não respiram nenhum patógeno.
04:43
Take a look at that from the side as well,
101
271200
2528
Olhando também de lado,
vê-se que é um sistema muito eficiente.
04:45
you see a very efficient system.
102
273752
1555
04:47
And in short, with this system, we win.
103
275331
2622
Em resumo, com esse sistema, vamos vencer.
04:51
When we take a look at what this means,
104
279255
2889
Quando se pensa no que significa isso,
04:54
what we see is that this not only works
if the middle passenger sneezes,
105
282168
3472
vemos que funciona não apenas
se o passageiro do meio espirrar,
mas também se o passageiro
da janela espirrar,
04:57
but also if the window-seat
passenger sneezes
106
285664
2774
05:00
or if the aisle-seat passenger sneezes.
107
288462
2095
ou se o passageiro do corredor espirrar.
05:03
And so with this solution, what does
this mean for the world?
108
291167
3087
E, assim, o que esta solução
significa para o mundo?
05:06
Well, when we take a look at this
109
294278
3514
Bem, ao comparar a simulação
do computador com a vida real,
05:09
from the computer simulation
into real life,
110
297816
2569
05:12
we can see with this 3D model
that I built over here,
111
300409
2762
podemos ver como esse modelo
em 3D que construí aqui,
05:15
essentially using 3D printing,
112
303195
2088
basicamente usando impressão em 3D,
05:17
we can see those same
airflow patterns coming down,
113
305307
2959
apresenta os mesmos padrões de fluxo de ar
descendo direto para os passageiros.
05:20
right to the passengers.
114
308290
1586
05:22
In the past, the SARS epidemic
actually cost the world
115
310920
3070
No passado, a epidemia de SARS custou
ao mundo cerca de US$ 40 bilhões.
05:26
about 40 billion dollars.
116
314014
1929
05:27
And in the future,
117
315967
1159
E, no futuro, um grande surto
da doença poderia custar ao mundo
05:29
a big disease outbreak
could actually cost the world
118
317150
2546
05:31
in excess of three trillion dollars.
119
319720
1858
mais de de US$ 3 trilhões.
05:33
So before, it used to be that you had
to take an airplane out of service
120
321942
3477
Antes, tínhamos de tirar um avião
de circulação por um ou dois meses,
05:37
for one to two months,
121
325443
1872
gastar dezenas de milhares
de horas de trabalho humano
05:39
spend tens of thousands of man hours
and several million dollars
122
327339
3572
e diversos milhões de dólares
para tentar mudar algo.
05:42
to try to change something.
123
330935
1323
05:44
But now, we're able to install
something essentially overnight
124
332282
3511
Mas, agora, somos capazes de instalar
algo praticamente da noite para o dia
05:47
and see results right away.
125
335817
1727
e ver resultados imediatos.
05:49
So it's really now a matter of taking
this through to certification,
126
337568
3206
Agora, é basicamente uma questão
de conseguir a certificação,
05:52
flight testing,
127
340798
1190
testar em voo e passar por todos
esses processos regulatórios de aprovação.
05:54
and going through all of these
regulatory approvals processes.
128
342012
2992
05:57
But it just really goes to show
that sometimes the best solutions
129
345028
3064
Mas isso vem mostrar que, às vezes,
as melhores soluções são as mais simples.
06:00
are the simplest solutions.
130
348116
1438
06:01
And two years ago, even,
131
349935
3190
Dois anos atrás, este projeto
poderia não ter acontecido,
06:05
this project would not have happened,
132
353149
1769
06:06
just because the technology then
wouldn't have supported it.
133
354942
2826
simplesmente porque não havia
tecnologia para torná-lo possível.
06:09
But now with advanced computing
134
357792
2469
Mas, agora, com a computação avançada
e o desenvolvimento da internet,
06:12
and how developed our Internet is,
135
360285
2186
06:14
it's really the golden era for innovation.
136
362495
2639
vivemos a idade de ouro da inovação.
06:17
And so the question I ask all
of you today is: why wait?
137
365158
3243
E, assim, a pergunta que faço a todos
vocês hoje é: por que esperar?
06:20
Together, we can build the future today.
138
368425
2321
Juntos, podemos construir o futuro hoje.
06:23
Thanks.
139
371123
1151
Obrigado.
06:24
(Applause)
140
372298
3106
(Aplausos)
Translated by Raissa Mendes
Reviewed by Ruy Lopes Pereira

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Raymond Wang - Inventor
Raymond Wang won the top prize in the 2015 Intel Science and Engineering Fair for his invention that circulates fresh air on planes and reduces transmission of germs between passengers.

Why you should listen

Raymond Wang is a Canadian youth innovator who is passionate about science, technology, engineering and entrepreneurship. He is one of Canada's Top 20 Under 20, and most recently, the recipient of the Gordon E. Moore award for the Top Project at the 2015 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

Raymond enjoys exploring STEM and promoting global sustainability. His latest engineering innovations, including his work with aircraft cabin airflow and his inventions of the “Weather Harvester,” “Smart Knee Assistant” and "Smart Bin,” have achieved international recognition.

Raymond is enthusiastic about inspiring others to pursue STEM opportunities. He actively reaches out to the local community through camps & associations, in addition to communities around the world through YouTube & Modern Media.

Having a strong passion for sustainability, Raymond has founded Sustainable Youth Canada, a youth-led non-profit organization dedicated to empowering young people in Affiliated Regions established from coast to coast to be leaders in tackling issues with environmental and energy sustainability.

In his spare time, Raymond enjoys exploring music as both a National Youth Band clarinetist and an avid pianist. He is also a keen director of films and videos; many of his productions have been recognized at local film festivals. 

Raymond envisions himself pursuing a career in science, applying research and innovation with a business approach to do his part in bettering the world.

More profile about the speaker
Raymond Wang | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee