Fiber Optics refers to the use of thin strands of glass or plastic fibers to transmit data as pulses of light. These optical fibers are designed to guide light over long distances, providing a highly efficient means of communication. Fiber optics is widely used in telecommunications, networking, medical imaging, and various other applications due to its ability to transmit data at high speeds with minimal signal loss.
As AI data centers grow, the fiber-optic networks that connect massive computing clusters become critical infrastructure. This talk explores how Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) can turn communication cables into real-time sensors that detect physical threats and improve cyber-physical resilience.
NEC Laboratories America’s Optical Networking & Sensing team will participate in OFC 2026 in Los Angeles, March 15–19, contributing to panels, workshops, and courses focused on optical sensing, multicore fibers, and next-generation high-capacity optical communication systems.
Publication Date: 6/29/2025 Event: OECC/PSC 2025 Reference: WC2-1: 1-3, 2025 Authors: Paul S. Westbrook, OFS Labs; Benyuan Zhu, OFS Labs; Kenneth S. Feder, OFS Labs; Zhou Shi , OFS Labs; Tristan Kremp, OFS Labs; Yaowen Li, NEC Laboratories America, Inc.; Ting Wang, NEC Laboratories America, Inc.; David J. DiGiovanni, OFS Labs Abstract: Publication Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11110426
Our Sarper Ozharar, Yue Tian and Yangmin Ding and Jessica L. Ware from the American Museum of Natural History have discovered that fiber optic cables equipped with distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) can pick up the sounds of Brood X cicadas. DAS technology, typically used to monitor seismic activity, can detect the vibrations caused by the loud sounds of cicadas, which live underground for years until they come up to mate.
Existing underground fiber-optic telecommunications cable networks that can be accessed through street manholes are helping a team at NEC Labs America improve wireless communications systems and the Internet of Things (IoT). “Hundreds of millions of fiber-optic cables are already there for communications purposes,” says Shaobo Han, a researcher at NEC Labs America who focuses on the design and development of machine learning and signal-processing techniques for real-world sensing applications. “We’re turning it all into a ‘thinking’ device, using the same cable that’s already there.”
Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) systems rely on measuring and analyzing different properties of the backscattered light of an optical pulse propagating along a fiber cable. DFOS systems can measure temperature, strain, vibrations, or acoustic excitations on the fiber cable and to their unique specifications, they have many applications and advantages over competing technologies. In this talk we will focus on the challenges and applications of DFOS systems using outdoor grade telecom fiber networks instead of standard indoor or some specialty fiber cables.
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NEC Laboratories America, Inc. (NEC Labs) is the US-based center for NEC Corporation’s global network of corporate research laboratories. Our diverse research groups collaborate with industry, academia and governments to provide disruptive solutions to complex problems. A leader in the integration of IT and network technologies with more than 100 years of expertise, NEC provides a combination of products and solutions that cross-utilize the company’s experience and global resources to meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers.