VIAVI has announced the launch of a next-generation fiber test head for distributed acoustic sensing (FTH-DAS) for its NITRO Fiber Sensing solution. VIAVI says the FTH-DAS is a true-phase distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) interrogator with an embedded artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) engine, built for deployment at the network edge. The company says the device supports multi-event detection and localization, with real-time event classification across multiple fibers directly on the interrogator.
“By combining on-device Machine Learning alongside a patented true-phase DAS technique, the VIAVI FTH-DAS delivers the enhanced measurement accuracy and interpretation needed for real-time intelligence,” said Kevin Oliver, Vice President and General Manager, Fiber and Access Solutions, VIAVI. “To put this into context, a gas pipeline operator would not only be able to detect leaks, but also nearby digging, vehicles and even footsteps, with the AI allowing for instantaneous and true alerts to prevent accidental damage before it happens. Classic OTDR, temperature, strain and acoustic monitoring is now possible in a single fiber core for both dark and in-service fiber links.”
VIAVI positions DAS as a method that uses standard optical fiber as a continuous sensor to detect and locate damage and potential threats over long distances. In data center and telecom contexts, the company explicitly lists threat identification for data centers and telecom network cables as applications, alongside perimeter surveillance and broader critical-infrastructure monitoring such as pipeline leak identification and undersea power-cable wear detection.
On the analytics side, VIAVI says its AI and ML event-detection and classification models are built from decades of historical data and run at the edge on the FTH-DAS. The company says models are automatically updated on the device without external, remote, centralized processing or manual intervention, and that the system analyzes fiber-link data in real time to reduce commissioning time while improving event identification, classification, and tracking. VIAVI also reports “continuous, scalable model adaptation” for automatic improvement in either a private or VIAVI-managed cloud-based ecosystem.
At the measurement layer, VIAVI says its true-phase DAS uses a patented phase-stepping interferometry technique to recover optical phase from Rayleigh backscatter. Beyond disturbance detection, VIAVI says this enables measurements of physical quantities including strain, vibration amplitude, frequency, and true acoustic power. The company claims results are repeatable, objective, and comparable across deployments, supporting uses beyond basic event detection and enabling more robust ML training and inference.
Source: VIAVI
