第2623期:A plug for smart power outlets

This is a world-changing invention. The smoke alarm has saved perhaps hundreds of thousands of lives, worldwide. But smoke alarms don't prevent fires.这是一个改变世界的发明。烟雾报警器可能已经在全球范围内挽救了成千上万的生命。但是，烟雾报警器并不能预防火灾。

Every year in the USA, over 20,000 are killed or injured with 350,000 home fires. And one of the main causes of all these fires is electricity. What if we could prevent electrical fires before they start? Well, a couple of friends and I figured out how to do this.每年，美国有超过 20,000 人因 350,000 起家庭火灾而丧生或受伤。其中一个主要的起火原因是电力。如果我们能在电气火灾发生之前就加以预防呢？我和几位朋友找到了解决办法。

So how does electricity ignite residential fires? Well, it turns out that the main causes are faulty and misused appliances and electrical wiring. Our invention had to address all of these issues. So what about circuit breakers? Well, Thomas Edison invented the circuit breaker in 1879. This is 130-year-old technology, and this is a problem, because over 80 percent of all home electrical fires start below the safety threshold of circuit breakers. Hmmm ...那么，电力是如何引发家庭火灾的呢？事实证明，主要原因是故障电器、不当使用电器以及电线老化。我们的发明必须解决所有这些问题。那么，断路器能否起作用？其实，托马斯·爱迪生早在 1879 年就发明了断路器。这项技术已有 130 年的历史，而这正是个问题，因为超过 80% 的家庭电气火灾发生时，电流都在断路器的安全阈值以下。嗯……

So we considered all of this. And we realized that electrical appliances must be able to communicate directly with the power receptacle itself. Any electrical device -- an appliance, an extension cord, whatever -- must be able to tell the power outlet, "Hey, power outlet, I'm drawing too much current. Shut me off now, before I start a fire." And the power outlet needs to be smart enough to do it. So here is what we did. We put a 10-cent digital transponder, a data tag, in the appliance plug. And we put an inexpensive, wireless data reader inside the receptacle so they could communicate.于是，我们认真思考了这个问题，并意识到电器必须能够直接与电源插座进行通信。任何电器——无论是家电、延长线还是其他设备——都必须能向电源插座发送信号：“嘿，电源插座，我的电流过载了，快关掉我，否则我可能会引发火灾。”而电源插座必须足够智能，能够执行这个指令。因此，我们的做法是：在电器插头内安装一个成本仅 10 美分的数字传感器（数据标签），并在插座内部放置一个廉价的无线数据读取器，让它们能够互相通信。

Now, every home electrical system becomes an intelligent network. The appliance's safe operating parameters are embedded into its plug. If too much current is flowing, the intelligent receptacle turns itself off, and prevents another fire from starting. We call this technology EFCI, Electrical Fault Circuit Interrupter.这样，每个家庭的电力系统都变成了一个智能网络。电器的安全运行参数被写入其插头中。如果电流过载，智能插座就会自动断电，防止火灾发生。我们称这种技术为 EFCI（电气故障断路器）。

Okay, two more points. Every year in the USA, roughly 2,500 children are admitted to emergency rooms for shock and burn injuries related to electrical receptacles. And this is crazy. An intelligent receptacle prevents injuries because the power is always off, until an intelligent plug is detected. Simple.还有两个关键点。每年，美国约有 2,500 名儿童因电源插座导致的电击和烧伤而被送往急诊室。这太可怕了。而智能插座可以防止这些伤害，因为在检测到智能插头之前，插座的电源始终处于关闭状态。这很简单。

Now, besides saving lives, perhaps the greatest benefit of intelligent power is in its energy savings. This invention will reduce global energy consumption by allowing remote control and automation of every outlet in every home and business. Now you can choose to reduce your home energy bill by automatically cycling heavy loads like air conditioners and heaters. Hotels and businesses can shut down unused rooms from a central location, or even a cell phone. There are 10 billion electrical outlets in North America alone. The potential energy savings is very, very significant.除了拯救生命之外，智能电力的另一个巨大优势是节能。这项发明可以通过远程控制和自动化管理家庭和企业中的每个插座，从而降低全球能源消耗。现在，你可以选择通过自动循环控制空调、暖气等高耗能设备来减少家庭能源账单。酒店和企业可以通过中央控制系统，甚至手机，关闭未使用的房间。仅在北美，就有 100 亿个电源插座，其节能潜力是非常巨大的。

So far we've applied for 414 patent claims. Of those, 186 have been granted: 228 are in process. And I'm pleased to announce that just three weeks ago we received our first international recognition, the 2009 CES Innovation Award.到目前为止，我们已申请了 414 项专利，其中 186 项已获批准，228 项正在申请中。我很高兴地宣布，就在三周前，我们获得了第一个国际认可——2009 年 CES 创新奖。

So, to conclude, intelligent power can, globally, save thousands of lives, prevent tens of thousands of injuries, and eliminate tens of billions of dollars in property damage every single year, while significantly reducing global energy consumption. In the spirit of this year's TED Conference, we think this is a powerful, world-changing invention. And I'd like to thank Chris for this opportunity to unveil our technology with you, and soon the world. Thank you.总而言之，智能电力每年可以在全球范围内拯救数千人的生命，防止数万起伤害，减少数百亿美元的财产损失，并显著降低全球能源消耗。秉承本届 TED 大会的精神，我们认为这是一个强大且能改变世界的发明。我还要感谢 Chris 给我这个机会，与大家——很快也会与全世界——分享我们的技术。谢谢大家！