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When Superstorm Sandy hit New York City in 2012, lower Manhattan was left in the dark, with no electricity or connectivity.
2012年超级风暴“桑迪”袭击纽约市时，曼哈顿下城区陷入一片黑暗，电力供应和通讯中断。
It really all boils down to the central point of failure problem.
这一切应该归结为“中心点故障”问题。
If the central infrastructure goes down, everyone who plugs into it is also disconnected.
如果中心基础设施崩溃，那么同它建立起来的任何网络连接都会断开。
Unable to use the cellular networks, New Yorker Daniela Perdomo and her brother later decided to creat their own.
因为无法使用蜂窝网络，纽约人达妮拉·多莫和她的弟弟后来决定创建属于自己的网络。
GoTenna Mesh is a mesh networking device that works where traditional networks fail.
“GoTenna Mesh”是一种网状网络设备，可在传统网络无法工作的地方正常使用。
It pairs to your phone over bluetooth, but bluetooth is just a conncetion between device and phone. That's it.
它通过蓝牙和你的手机进行配对，但蓝牙只是设备和手机之间的连接而已。
And then the GoTenna device itself transmits pretty low-frequency radio waves over great distances.
然后，“GoTenna”设备自身能够远距离传输特低频无线电波。
These radio waves are just enough to carry text messages and GPS information.
这些无线电波足以携带文本信息和GPS信息。
And in emergency situations like Houston's Hurricane Harvey, that can be the difference between life and death.
而在紧急情况下，如休斯敦的“哈维”飓风，这可能是生死攸关的处境。
Originally developed for military use, mesh networks spread connectivity over multiple nodes, or connection points that communicate with each other.
网状网络最初用于军事用途，它可以保证多个节点或连接点的连线完整，最终实现通信。
Any individual Wi-Fi device doesn't reach very far,
任何单个的Wi-Fi设备都难以实现远距离无线通信，
but if you can chain many of them together, then you can provide access over a wider area.
但如果将许多Wi-Fi设备连接在一起，那么信号覆盖区域就大为拓展。
The idea is to make telecommunication systems more modular, more distributed.
这个想法是使电信系统更加模块化、更为分散。
So that even if centralized points fail, you would still have working telecommunications in different areas.
所以即使中心点无法正常工作，仍会有不同区域的电信系统维持工作。
Mesh networks can connect multiple users to the larger Internet,
网状网络可以将多个用户连接到较大规模的互联网，
or function as a local server for emergency information and basic conncetivity.
或者发挥本地服务器的作用，保障紧急信息的传输及基本通讯。
Greta Byrum helps communities build their own networks,
格丽塔·拜勒姆帮助社区建立自己的网络，
using everyday equippment like wireless routers and small portable computers like the Raspberry Pi.
他们使用的是无线路由器和像“树莓派”这样的小型便携式计算机等日常设备。
I think it's important for thinking about the future of utilities and telecommunications
我认为考虑公共设备和电子通信的未来很重要，
because we are finding more and more that centralized systems just don't make sense.
因为我们逐渐意识到集中式系统行不通。
Why can't we empower people to create their own connectivity?
为什么我们不能授权人们创建自己的连接？
And create, you know, more of a people-powered, bottom-up network as opposed to, you know, a heavy infrastructure top-down network?
为什么不依靠广大民众创建自下而上的网络，而非要选择那种自上而下的基础设施？
In weathering the storm, mesh networks are restoring power in more ways than one.
为了平安度过这场风暴，网状网络正在以多种方式恢复电力供应。
Tina Trinh, VOA News, New York.
VOA新闻，蒂娜·崔恩在纽约为您播报。
