SENSEI

The project aims to develop new tools and methods to operate global telecommunication networks as large-scale distributed sensors. We will develop novel photonic techniques for measuring the deformation of optical cables by interferometric means with high sensitivity and high resolution, making use of low-phase-noise laser sources. We will address the on-chip integration of such lasers, overcoming one important limit of present systems, i.e. of being bulky, costly and not suitable for mass-production and large scale implementation. At the same time, we will design an advanced network architecture in which the newly-developed sensing elements are made visible to the network control layer together with standard elements, and the information is processed and turned into exploitable information. This will provide the network with intelligence and awareness, in turns enabling: a wiser use of resources towards a more sustainable operation of global networks; self-healing functionalities by timely recognition of soft-failures and identification of correction pathways; time-critical tasks such as recognition of ongoing hazard and the implementation of actions to protect population and critical infrastructures. Our consortium brings together optical networking experts, photonic developers, seismologists and network providers and has a strong focus on long-term experimental tests in fibres shared with data traffic. Through unprecedented data collection campaigns and thanks to a multi-disciplinary approach, we will advance the interpretation of collected data and make them available to the wider scientifc community, aiming for a synergic and smarter exploitation of global networks for telecommunications, scientific research, citizen protection and the management of highly-populated areas.