ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John La Grou - Inventor
John La Grou, a long-time electronics inventor, audio designer and entrepreneur, wants to save lives (and energy) with a new, smarter type of electrical outlet.

Why you should listen

John La Grou is a patent holder and research engineer on Safeplug, a new brand of electrical fault circuit interrupters. The Safeplug technology, which combines microprocessors in power outlets and RFID tags in electrical plugs, might just represent the next generation in residential and commercial electrical delivery. Besides conserving massive amounts of energy, Safeplug promises to save lives and prevent injuries by making the electrical systems in our homes "smart."

La Grou is also CEO of Millennia Group, an audio design and manufacturing company that produces audio components held as the gold standard among professional musicians and producers.

More profile about the speaker
John La Grou | Speaker | TED.com
TED2009

John La Grou: A plug for smart power outlets

John La Grou conecteaza prizele inteligente

Filmed:
658,261 views

John La Grou dezvaluie o tehnologie noua si ingenioasa care va face prizele electrice din casele noastre mai destepte, folosind microprocesoare si tag-uri RFID. Inventia, numita Safeplug, promite sa previna accidentele mortale, cum ar fi incendiile -- si sa conserve energia.
- Inventor
John La Grou, a long-time electronics inventor, audio designer and entrepreneur, wants to save lives (and energy) with a new, smarter type of electrical outlet. Full bio

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

00:18
This is a world-changingSchimbarea lumii inventioninvenţie.
0
0
3000
Aceasta este o inventie care va schimba lumea.
00:21
The smokefum alarmalarma has savedsalvate perhapspoate hundredssute of thousandsmii
1
3000
3000
Alarmele de fum au salvat probabil sute de mii
00:24
of livesvieți, worldwidela nivel mondial.
2
6000
2000
de vieti, in toata lumea.
00:26
But smokefum alarmsalarme don't preventîmpiedica firesincendii.
3
8000
4000
Dar alarmele de foc nu previn incendiile.
00:30
EveryFiecare yearan in the USASTATELE UNITE ALE AMERICII, over 20,000 are killeducis or injuredrănit
4
12000
3000
In fiecare an in SUA, peste 20.000 de oameni sunt ucisi sau raniti
00:33
with 350,000 home firesincendii.
5
15000
2000
in 350.00 de incendii domestice.
00:35
And one of the mainprincipal causescauze of all these firesincendii is electricityelectricitate.
6
17000
4000
Si una din principalele cauze ale acestor incendii este electricitatea.
00:39
What if we could preventîmpiedica electricalelectric firesincendii
7
21000
3000
Cum ar fi sa putem preveni focul generat de curentul electric
00:42
before they startstart?
8
24000
2000
inainte de a izbucni?
00:44
Well, a couplecuplu of friendsprieteni and I figuredimaginat out how to do this.
9
26000
3000
Pai, un grup de prieteni, impreuna cu mine, ne-am gandit cum sa facem asta.
00:47
So how does electricityelectricitate igniteaprinde residentialRezidențial firesincendii?
10
29000
4000
Deci cum izbucnesc incendiile din cauze ce tin de electricitate?
00:51
Well it turnstransformă out that the mainprincipal causescauze
11
33000
2000
Pai, a reiesit ca principala cauza
00:53
are faultydefect and misusedutilizat în mod abuziv appliancesaparate and electricalelectric wiringcabluri.
12
35000
3000
este utilizarea unor aparate si fire electrice defecte in mod abuziv.
00:56
Our inventioninvenţie had to addressadresa all of these issuesprobleme.
13
38000
4000
Inventia noastra a trebuit sa adreseze toate aceste probleme.
01:00
So what about circuitcircuit breakersîntrerupătoare?
14
42000
2000
Dar cum ramane cu intrerupatoarele?
01:02
Well, ThomasThomas EdisonEdison inventedinventat the circuitcircuit breakerîntrerupător in 1879.
15
44000
4000
Thomas Edison a inventat intrerupatoarele in 1879.
01:06
This is 130-year-old-de ani technologytehnologie,
16
48000
3000
Este o tehnologie veche de 130 de ani.
01:09
and this is a problemproblemă, because over 80 percentla sută
17
51000
3000
Si acest lucru este o problema. Pentru ca peste 80 la suta
01:12
of all home electricalelectric firesincendii
18
54000
2000
din toate incendiile domestice cauzate de electricitate
01:14
startstart belowde mai jos the safetySiguranță thresholdprag of circuitcircuit breakersîntrerupătoare.
19
56000
3000
pornesc sub pragul de siguranta al intrerupatoarelor.
01:17
HmmmHmmm ...
20
59000
2000
Hmmm...
01:19
So we consideredluate în considerare all of this. And we realizedrealizat
21
61000
2000
Deci am luat in considerare toate acestea. Si am realizat ca
01:21
that electricalelectric appliancesaparate
22
63000
2000
aparatele electrice
01:23
musttrebuie sa be ablecapabil to communicatecomunica directlydirect
23
65000
2000
trebuie sa fie capabile sa comunice direct
01:25
with the powerputere receptaclerecipient itselfîn sine.
24
67000
2000
cu priza insasi.
01:27
Any electricalelectric devicedispozitiv -- an applianceaparat, an extensionextensie cordcordon, whateverindiferent de --
25
69000
4000
Orice dispozitiv electric, un aparat, un prelungitor, orice,
01:31
musttrebuie sa be ablecapabil to tell the powerputere outletpriză,
26
73000
2000
trebuie sa fie capabil sa spuna prizei,
01:33
"Hey, powerputere outletpriză,
27
75000
2000
"Hei, priza,
01:35
I'm drawingdesen too much currentactual. ShutÎnchide me off now, before I startstart a firefoc."
28
77000
4000
folosesc prea mult curent. Inchide-ma, inainte sa provoc in incendiu."
01:39
And the powerputere outletpriză needsare nevoie to be smartinteligent enoughdestul to do it.
29
81000
4000
Si priza trebuie sa fie suficient de destepta sa faca asta.
01:43
So here is what we did. We put a 10-cent-suta digitaldigital transpondertransponderul,
30
85000
5000
Deci, iata ceea ce am facut. Am pus un transponder digital de 10 centi
01:48
a datadate tagTag-ul, in the applianceaparat plugdop.
31
90000
3000
o santinela de date, in stecar-ul aparatului.
01:51
And we put an inexpensiveieftin, wirelessfără fir datadate readercititor insideinterior the receptaclerecipient
32
93000
4000
Si am pus un cititor de date fara fir si ieftin in priza
01:55
so they could communicatecomunica.
33
97000
2000
pentru a putea comunica intre ele.
01:57
Now, everyfiecare home electricalelectric systemsistem
34
99000
2000
Acum, orice sistem electric domestic
01:59
becomesdevine an intelligentinteligent networkreţea.
35
101000
3000
devine o retea inteligenta.
02:02
The appliance'saparatului safesigur operatingoperare parametersparametrii
36
104000
2000
Parametrii de siguranta cu care opereaza aparatul
02:04
are embeddedîncorporat into its plugdop.
37
106000
3000
sunt incorporati in stecar-ul lui.
02:07
If too much currentactual is flowingcurgere,
38
109000
2000
Daca trece prea mult curent,
02:09
the intelligentinteligent receptaclerecipient turnstransformă itselfîn sine off,
39
111000
2000
priza inteligenta se decupleaza chiar ea,
02:11
and preventsprevine anothero alta firefoc from startingpornire.
40
113000
3000
si previne izbucnirea unui incendiu.
02:14
We call this technologytehnologie EFCIEFCI,
41
116000
2000
Numiti aceasta tehnologie ICED,
02:16
ElectricalElectrice FaultVina CircuitCircuit InterrupterÎntrerupător.
42
118000
3000
Intrerupator de Circuite Electrice Defecte.
02:19
Okay, two more pointspuncte. EveryFiecare yearan in the USASTATELE UNITE ALE AMERICII,
43
121000
2000
Ok, inca doua lucruri. In fiecare an in SUA,
02:21
roughlyaproximativ 2,500 childrencopii
44
123000
3000
aproape 2.500 de copii
02:24
are admittedadmise to emergencycaz de urgență roomscamere for shockşoc and burna arde injuriesleziuni
45
126000
3000
sunt primiti la urgente din cauza socurilor si arsurilor
02:27
relatedlegate de to electricalelectric receptaclesrecipiente. And this is crazynebun.
46
129000
4000
provocate de prizele electrice. Iar asta este o nebunie.
02:31
An intelligentinteligent receptaclerecipient preventsprevine injuriesleziuni
47
133000
3000
O priza inteligenta previne ranirile
02:34
because the powerputere is always off,
48
136000
2000
pentru ca energia electrica este intotdeauna oprita,
02:36
untilpana cand an intelligentinteligent plugdop is detecteddetectat. SimpleSimplu.
49
138000
4000
pana cand este detectat un stecar inteligent. Simplu.
02:40
Now, besidesin afara de asta savingeconomisire livesvieți,
50
142000
2000
Acum, pe langa salvarea vietilor,
02:42
perhapspoate the greatestcea mai mare benefitbeneficiu of intelligentinteligent powerputere
51
144000
2000
poate ca cel mai mare beneficiu al curentului inteligent
02:44
is in its energyenergie savingseconomie.
52
146000
2000
este un economisirea energiei.
02:46
This inventioninvenţie will reducereduce globalglobal energyenergie consumptionconsum
53
148000
3000
Aceasta inventie va reduce consumul global de energie
02:49
by allowingpermițând remotela distanta controlControl and automationautomatizare
54
151000
3000
permitand controlul de la distanta si automatizarea
02:52
of everyfiecare outletpriză in everyfiecare home and businessAfaceri.
55
154000
3000
fiecarei prize in fiecare casa sau afacere.
02:55
Now you can choosealege to reducereduce your home energyenergie billfactură
56
157000
3000
Acum puteti alege sa reduceti factura de curent
02:58
by automaticallyautomat cyclingCiclism heavygreu loadsloturile
57
160000
2000
prin programarea functionarii marilor consumatori
03:00
like airaer conditionersAercondicionat and heatersIncalzitoare.
58
162000
3000
cum ar fi aerul conditionat sau incalzitoarele.
03:03
HotelsHoteluri and businessesîntreprinderi can shutînchide down unusednefolosit roomscamere
59
165000
3000
Hotelurile si afacerile pot decupla camerele nefolosite
03:06
from a centralcentral locationLocație, or even a cellcelulă phonetelefon.
60
168000
3000
dintr-un punct central de comanda sau chiar de la un telefon mobil.
03:09
There are 10 billionmiliard electricalelectric outletspuncte de vânzare
61
171000
3000
Sunt 10 miliarde de prize electrice
03:12
in NorthNord AmericaAmerica alonesingur.
62
174000
2000
doar in America de Nord.
03:14
The potentialpotenţial energyenergie savingseconomie is very, very significantsemnificativ.
63
176000
4000
Economia potentiala de energie este foarte foarte semnificativa.
03:18
So fardeparte we'vene-am appliedaplicat for 414 patentbrevet claimscreanțe.
64
180000
4000
Pana acum am aplicat pentru 414 brevete.
03:22
Of those, 186 have been grantedacordat:
65
184000
3000
Din acestea, 186 ne-au fost deja acordate.
03:25
228 are in processproces.
66
187000
2000
228 sunt in curs de acordare.
03:27
And I'm pleasedmulţumit to announceva anuntam that just threeTrei weekssăptămâni agoîn urmă
67
189000
3000
Si sunt bucuros sa va anunt ca doar acum trei saptamani
03:30
we receivedprimit our first internationalinternaţional recognitionrecunoaştere,
68
192000
3000
am primit prima noastra recunoastere internationala,
03:33
the 2009 CESCES InnovationInovare AwardPremiul.
69
195000
4000
Premiul pentru Inovatie CES 2009.
03:37
So, to concludeîncheia,
70
199000
2000
Deci, in concluzie,
03:39
intelligentinteligent powerputere can, globallyla nivel global, saveSalvați thousandsmii of livesvieți,
71
201000
4000
curentul inteligent, poate, global, sa salveze mii de vieti,
03:43
preventîmpiedica tenszeci of thousandsmii of injuriesleziuni,
72
205000
2000
sa previna zeci de mii de accidente,
03:45
and eliminateînlătura tenszeci of billionsmiliarde of dollarsdolari in propertyproprietate damagedeteriora
73
207000
4000
si sa elimine daune de zeci de miliarde de dolari,
03:49
everyfiecare singlesingur yearan,
74
211000
2000
in fiecare an,
03:51
while significantlysemnificativ reducingreduce globalglobal energyenergie consumptionconsum.
75
213000
3000
in acelasi timp reducand semnificativ consumul global de energie.
03:54
In the spiritspirit of this year'sani TEDTED ConferenceConferinta,
76
216000
2000
In spiritul conferintei TED din acest an,
03:56
we think this is a powerfulputernic, world-changingSchimbarea lumii inventioninvenţie.
77
218000
3000
credem ca aceasta este o inventie importanta, care va schimba lumea.
03:59
And I'd like to thank ChrisChris for this opportunityoportunitate
78
221000
3000
Si as vrea sa multumesc lui Chris pentru aceasta ocazie
04:02
to unveildezvălui our technologytehnologie with you, and sooncurând the worldlume.
79
224000
3000
de a va dezvalui tehnologia noastra voua si in curand lumii intregi.
04:05
Thank you.
80
227000
1000
Va multumesc.
04:06
(ApplauseAplauze)
81
228000
3000
Aplauze.
Translated by Octavian Vidican
Reviewed by Cristi Grigore

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
John La Grou - Inventor
John La Grou, a long-time electronics inventor, audio designer and entrepreneur, wants to save lives (and energy) with a new, smarter type of electrical outlet.

Why you should listen

John La Grou is a patent holder and research engineer on Safeplug, a new brand of electrical fault circuit interrupters. The Safeplug technology, which combines microprocessors in power outlets and RFID tags in electrical plugs, might just represent the next generation in residential and commercial electrical delivery. Besides conserving massive amounts of energy, Safeplug promises to save lives and prevent injuries by making the electrical systems in our homes "smart."

La Grou is also CEO of Millennia Group, an audio design and manufacturing company that produces audio components held as the gold standard among professional musicians and producers.

More profile about the speaker
John La Grou | Speaker | TED.com