Optical Fiber Sensor Network Integrating Communication and Sensing Functions Using Hetero-core Spliced Fiber Optic Sensors

In this paper, we propose a novel optical fiber system integrating both functions of high-speed communication and open/closed state detection by using hetero-core spliced fiber sensors. We call the optical fiber system an ldquooptical sensory nerve network (OSN)rdquo. The OSN does not need power to be supplied to the sensors. The OSN also has sufficient capacity to be available for use as a normal information network. Therefore, we believe that our system will considerably reduce problems associated with wireless sensor networks, such as short battery life-time and various communication constraints. In this paper, we present results of the evaluation of the performance of our proposed system with respect to communication and measurement characteristics. In addition, our investigation of a trial environment, in which we simulated a real life application, demonstrated the feasibility of our developed system.