OPTICAL NETWORKING & SENSING
PROJECTS
PEOPLE
PUBLICATIONS
PATENTS
This project focuses on enhancing the performance, functionality, and versatility of distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOS), emerging as transformative tools in diverse fields such as safety and security, transportation, power and energy, and beyond. DFOS systems enable continuous and real-time monitoring over long distances by utilizing optical fibers as sensing elements, detecting parameters such as temperature, strain, and vibration. Despite their significant potential, these systems need help with sensitivity, reliability, and integration into existing infrastructures, which this project aims to address.
Key objectives include developing novel sensor designs and interrogation techniques to improve measurement precision, data resolution, and range. The project seeks to create DFOS solutions capable of operating in harsh and complex environments by leveraging advancements in signal processing, machine learning, and materials science. For example, enhanced DFOS systems could enable real-time intrusion detection or structural health monitoring for critical infrastructure in safety and security. In transportation, they could facilitate predictive maintenance of railways, bridges, and tunnels by detecting early signs of stress or fatigue. In power and energy, DFOS could provide valuable insights for optimizing the performance of power grids and monitoring pipeline integrity. The outcomes of this research are expected to significantly broaden the adoption of DFOS technology across industries, improving efficiency, reducing operational risks, and enabling proactive decision-making. This project seeks to establish DFOS as a cornerstone technology for more intelligent, safer, and more sustainable systems in various critical applications through multidisciplinary collaboration and innovation.
Team Members: Ezra Ip, Jian Fang, Junqiang Hu, Ming-Fang Huang, Philip N. Ji, Sarper Ozharar, Shaobo Han, Shuji Murakami, Ting Wang, Tingfeng Li, Wataru Kohno, Yangmin Ding, Yaowen Li, Yue Tian, Yue-Kai Huang, Yuheng Chen
Keyword Tags: fiber optics, distributed fiber optic sensors, DFOS, network as a sensor
NEC Laboratories America will receive a 2026 Edison Patent Award for a patent that lets optical fiber carry both data communications and distributed sensing at once, reducing interference through counter-propagation and standard WDM filtering, validated across long distances of field fiber.
Verizon and NEC Laboratories America turned live telecom fiber into a city-wide sensing network. By repurposing existing optical infrastructure, the system detects vibrations along fiber routes, cutting cable damage incidents and improving response times. The approach also enables AI models that adapt
We propose a method to compensate the phase offset between samples from different tributaries in time-interleaved phase OTDR using nested phase reference channels. We demonstrate our method for a four-span bidirectional link with high-loss loopback.
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 celebrates Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day by recognizing the women researchers, engineers, and interns whose work in artificial intelligence, optical networking, cybersecurity, and data science is helping shape the future of technology.
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.
Distributed Fiber-Optic Sensing (DFOS) is a promising technique for large-scale acoustic monitoring. However, its wide variation in installation environments and sensor characteristics causes spatial heterogeneity. This heterogeneity makes it difficult to collect representative training data. It also
Fiber sensing function was introduced in 2020 as one of the key technology features for the OpenAPN (all photonics network) developed by IOWN GF (Innovative Optical and Wireless NetworkGlobal Forum) in 2020.To our best knowledge, IOWN GF is the first global standard developmentorganization or technology
Passive-Optical-Networks (PON) have emerged as a pivotal technology for broadband access network and are now expanding to wireless communication, supporting 5G and development of future 6G frameworks. PON systems are expected to find many new applications, including in electrical power grids, modern
Distributed fiber optics sensing is applied for traffic management in the intersection. The high-definition fiber sensing data streaming is applied as source and YOLO computer vision model isemployed for event detection classification and localization.
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
We propose a novel Distributed Fiber Optic Sensing (DFOS) placement strategy tailored to the evolving needs of modern power grids, where fiber cables serve dual purposes: communication and real-time sensing. Our approach integrates a heuristic algorithm, PURE (Power Source-aware Route Exploration), with
Recent advancements in unique acoustic sensing devices and large-scale audio recognition models have unlocked new possibilities for environmental sound monitoring and detection. However, applying pretrained models to non-conventional acoustic sensors results in performance degradation due to domain shifts,
We demonstrate a method for measuring the backscatter coefficient of hollow-core fibre (HCF), and show the feasibility of distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) with simultaneous 9.6-Tb/s DWDM transmission over a 1.6-km field-deployed HCF cable.
We develop a heuristic solution to effectively optimize the placement of multi-channel distributed fiber optic sensors in mesh optical fiber cable networks. The solution has beenimplemented in a field network to provide continuous monitoring.
We proposed the use of BOTDA as a monitoring tool to identify fiber types present in deployed hybrid-span fiber cables, to assist in network planning, setting optimal launch powers, and selecting correct modulation formats.
Falling trees or their limbs can cause power lines to break or sag, sometimes resulting in devastating wildfires. Conventional protections such as circuit breakers, overcurrent relays and automatic circuit reclosers may clear short circuits caused by tree contact, but they may not detect cases where
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,
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
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
We perform the availability analysis for various reliable distributed fiber optic sensor placement schemes in the circumstances of multiple failures. The study can help the network carriers to select the optimal protection scheme for their network sensing services, considering both service availability
Distributed fiber optic sensing systems use long section of optical fiber as the sensing media. Therefore, the fiber characteristics determines the sensing capability and performance. In this presentation, various types of specialty optical fibers and their sensing applications will be introduced and
We review recent advances aimed at increasing the reach of distributed fiber optic sensing with simultaneous data transmission. We review two methods based on measurement of accumulated phase on telecom signals, and chirp-pulsed DAS with inline amplification and frequency diversity.
Recently, the distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) techniques have advanced rapidly. There emerges various types of DFOS sensors that can monitor physical parameters such as temperature, strain, and vibration. With these DFOS sensors deployed, the telecom networks are capable of offering additional
We report the first distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) results over>1,000 km on a field-lab hybrid link using chirped-pulses with correlation detection and 20× frequency-diversity, achieving a sensitivity of 100 pa/√Hz at 20-meters spatial resolution.
We demonstrate distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) over a bidirectional datacenter link which uses self-homodyne coherent detection for the data signal. Frequency multiplexing allows sharing the optoelectronic hardware, and enables DAS as an auxiliary function.
We review the distributed-fiber-sensing field trial results over deployed telecom networks. With local AI processing, real-time detection, and localization of abnormal events with cable damage threat assessment are realized for cable self-protection.
Road surface condition can significantly impact the interaction between vehicles and pavement structure, which may even cause high fuel consumption and safety issues of drivers and vehicles. Distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technology is a useful tool to perform continuous and real-time monitoring
By employing distributed fiber optic sensing (DFOS) technologies, field deployed fiber cables can be utilized as not only communication media for data transmissions but also sensing media for continuously monitoring of the physical phenomenon along the entire route. The fiber can be used to monitor ambient
Distributed fiber optic sensing systems (DFOS) allow deployed fiber cables to be sensing media, not only dedicated function of data transmission. The fiber cable can monitor the ambient environment over wide area for many applications. We review recent field trial results, and show how artificial intelligence
We report the distributed-fiber-sensing field trial results over a 5G-transport-network. A standard communication fiber is used with real-time AI processing for cable self-protection, cable-cut threat assessment and road traffic monitoring in a long-term continuous test.
We propose an efficient approach for placing distributed fiber optic sensors (DFOS) with concurrent sensing capability. It consumes 5.7% to 9.5% fewer sensors than that using DFOS without concurrent sensing, for covering the same network.
Empowered by the rapid advancement of fiber optic sensing techniques in recent years, network carriers are able to upgrade their network infrastructure beyond the basic communication services with extra sensing applications and services (e.g., monitoring traffic and road condition, leakage detection,
We are the first to investigate a novel problem, called distributed fiber optic sensor placement, in the context of Infrastructure-as-a-Sensor. We propose an ILP-based optimal solution and a close-to-optimal heuristic solution, both of which aim at minimizing the cost of sensors.