Using Fibre Optics to measure vehicle traffic

This time on PING, Dr Mona Jaber from Queen Mary University of London (QMUL), discusses her work exploring IoT, Digital Twins and Social Science led research in the field of networking and telecommunications.

Dr Jaber is a senior lecturer in QMUL and is the founder and director of the Digital Twins for Sustainable Development Goals (DT4SDG) at QMUL. She was one of the invited Keynote speakers at the recent APRICOT/APNIC57 meeting held in Bangkok, and the podcast explores the three major themes explored in her keynote presentation.

• The role of deployed fibre optic communication systems in measurement for sustainable green goals
• Digital Twin Simulation platforms for exploring the problem space
• Social Sciences led research, an inter-disciplinary approach to formulating and exploring problems which has been applied to Sustainable Development-related research through technical innovation in IoT, AI, and Digital Twins.

The Fibre Optic measurement method is Distributed Acoustic Sensor or DAS:

"DAS reuses underground fibre optic cables as distributed strain sensing where the strain is caused by moving objects above ground. DAS is not affected by weather or light and the fibre optic cables are often readily available, offering a continuous source for sensing along the length of the cable. Unlike video cameras, DAS systems also offer a GDPR-compliant source of data."The DASMATE Project at theengineer.co.uk

This Episode of PING was recorded live in the venue and is a bit noisy compared to the usual recordings, but it's well worth putting up with the background chatter!

Read more about Dr Jaber's presentation, the DAS system, Digital Twins and Fibre Optic communications:

• Intelligent IoT for sustainable development Goals: Keynote talk at APRICOT/APNIC57
• The recording of Dr Jaber's Keynote talk
• The DASMATE project: Assisting the uptake of Active Travel Tower Hamlets, London
• The DT4SDG group page at QMUL
• Coherent Optical Tranceivers (Geoff Huston, April 2024)