Recently, the Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA) issued a press release announcing its runner-up and winner of the association’s FOSA Project Awards.
The runner-up
SAMM Teknoloji collaborated with the Instanbul Municipality Gas Distribution and Trade Joint Stock Company on an “Earthquake Early Warning System”. The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) has a portion called the Marmara that goes through the Sea of Marmara, and the zone has been considered a potential seismic hazard for the area.
The Earthquake Early Warning System began in 2022 and utilized SAMM Teknoloji fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing system product (FOTAS) for “real-time seismic activity detection and analysis, providing valuable information for earthquake early warning systems”. The company also developed AI to note any possible seismic activity through trends and patterns.
Jon Beckman, Vice Chairman of FOSA and Director, Instrument and Business Operations with VIAVI Solutions commented on the project stating, “For FOSA, these projects demonstrate the value-adding potential of distributed fiber optic sensing, across many markets. Furthermore, they emphasize the opportunities of collaboration – the potential for adding value across many industries is far-reaching – we see problem-solving solutions created almost daily.”
FOSA Project Award winners
The dual winners of the FOSA 2023 Project Award were Luna Innovations (OptaSense) and Dura-Line. Both companies worked together on the 2-year long Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) project “Using Fiber for Situational Awareness Along Roadways”. The area under investigation included canyon routes from Salt Lake City, Utah, to popular tourist destinations for the state, including the ski resorts of Alta and Park City.
LUNA deployed its Traffic Monitoring Solution (TMS) with telecommunications-grade optical fiber within another fiber optic cable which was protected in Dura-Line conduit. “The purpose of the field-trial was to assess emerging Smart Road applications including vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic/road monitoring, crash detection and classification, monitoring for natural hazards common to Utah such as snow avalanches and rockfalls, and utility protection, all in addition to complementary traffic monitoring of vehicle speed and congestion.” Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) information from LUNA’s TMS went straight into the UDOT Blyncsy Pulse software dashboard, which increased situational awareness through real-time monitoring and alarms and alerts in the case of an event. On top of that, stakeholders received immediate notification emails when new detection methods were added.
JJ Williams, Global Commercial Director for Luna Innovations, commented on the received award saying, “Working closely with the Utah DOT team for a lengthy period allowed time to demonstrate the readiness of LUNA’s TMS solution to help roadway operators close situational awareness gaps. This ground-breaking field-trial also identified events demonstrating the unintended benefits of DAS – it’s always on, always monitoring, and always learning.”
Paul Dickinson, Dura-Line’s Director of Business Development, stated, “Dura-Line, in collaboration with LUNA, was pleased to work closely with visionary UDOT personnel and have the project recognized for its value to both the transportation and fiber sensing industry. Through existing or newly installed roadside optical fiber with this novel sensing application, departments of transportation throughout the U.S. and world now have the ability to improve life safety, protect infrastructure, and reduce operational expenses.”