Software-defined fiber optic sensor

Cohaerentia software-defined approach is enabled by the availability of a patented solution, called Synoptic sensor, based on coherent light detection technology and a novel use of standard optical fibers for multi-purpose and multi-domain data collection. The Synoptic sensor represents a low-cost, non-intrusive and easy to integrate sensor device where the entire length of the optical fiber is used as the sensing element of the whole structure, providing a distributed sensing functionality, with a monitoring capability over a wide frequency bandwidth (from 0 Hz up to MHz). The Synoptic sensor, with its minimal invasiveness, can simultaneously collect all the disturbances acting on the fiber including mechanical vibrations, structural deformations, component-wise temperatures and even magnetic and electric fields.

The extraction and separation of the different information carried by the optical signal is achieved through an innovative scheme of coherent detection associated with an ultrafast DSP. Depending on the monitoring needs only the DSP requires to be specialized and the recent availability off-the-shelf DSP boards has allowed Cohaerentia to develop a competitive solution for monitoring and diagnostics in sectors such as the manufacturing industry, over than the more traditional fields of application of fiber optical sensors.