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Fiber Optics Bring You Internet. Now They’re Also Listening to Trains
“Distributed acoustic sensing” looks for disturbances in fiber to detect earthquakes and even insects. Can it also improve rail safety?
Whether you walk over buried fiber optics or drive a car across them, above-ground activity creates a characteristic vibration that ever-so-slightly disturbs the way light travels through the cables. He adds that this sort of system running continuously might cut down on the human labor required to inspect railroad tracks around the world, a dangerous job given all the massive machines zipping around. “Distributed acoustic sensing is one area that suppliers and carriers are exploring to see if it can meaningfully advance safety goals,” says Jessica Kahanek, spokesperson for the Association of American Railroads.
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