FOSA Awards

2024
FOSA 2024 Premier Member Awards

2024 FOSA Project Award

Winner: Electronic and Optical Sensing Solutions (EOSS) – Long distance DTS measurement for Offshore Wind
EOSS, a new brand of Prysmian resulting from the merge of Prysmian Electronics and Omnisens, with 25 years tradition and expertise in the field of distributed fibre sensing, was recognized tor constantly innovating and pushing back the DFOS distance and performance boundaries. Please click the link below to learn more about the EOSS Project Award including Cluster Westlich Adlergrund in the Baltic Sea, Hornsea 1 windfarm offshore UK, and Crete-Peloponnese interconnector.

2024 Project Award Electronic and Optical Sensing Solutions (EOSS) Long distance DTS measurement for Offshore Wind 

 

2024 FOSA Innovation Award

Winner: Network Integrity Systems – Interferometrically Enhanced Sensitivity Buried Zone Sensor
With the development of SENTINEL’s buried sensor detection capability, Network Integrity Systems is redefining the possibilities for perimeter security and intrusion detection. Previously, detecting footsteps or approaching vehicles required complex and costly DFOS technologies. By combining the precision of fiber optic sensing with the simplicity and affordability of zone-based monitoring, Network Integrity Systems is making advanced detection technology accessible to a broader audience. This innovation not only enhances security for smaller perimeters but also helps bring fiber optic sensing into mainstream use—benefiting both users and the industry as a whole. Please click the link to learn more about Network Integrity System’s Innovation.

2024 Innovation Award Network Integrity Systems

 

2024 Sensing in Damage Prevention Award

Winner: Luna Innovations – Integrating real time damage prevention alarms with the Texas 811 One Call database for CenterPoint Energy
Damages to buried infrastructure is a global problem that costs tens of billions per year, impacting utility operators and disrupting local people and businesses, through their internet, power or water supply. Fiber optic cables are already present in many utility corridors, waiting to be lit up for real-time damage prevention using DAS systems. LUNA has demonstrated the ability to detect right of way activity in real time and integrate this with the 811 One Call database, to verify whether this activity is permitted or not. By integrating with this ecosystem, operators can get live monitoring through their One Call service, which is a step-change in damage prevention practices and can help them significantly reduce their incidents. LUNA was delighted to work with Texas 811 and CenterPoint on this project. Please click the link to learn more about the LUNA Damage Prevention Innovation.

LUNA – Sensing in Damage Prevention

 

2024 Sensing in Offshore Wind Award

Winner: AP Sensing – Quantitative Depth of Burial State (qDoBS) Method for Offshore Power Cable Monitoring
The award recognizes AP Sensing’s groundbreaking approach to determining the quantitative depth of burial state (qDoBS) for submarine cables, a crucial advancement for global cable operators. This novel method provides a continuous, real-time solution to accurately determine the burial depth of submarine power cables, without the need for knowledge of the ambient conditions and thermal parameters of the seabed. By identifying unburied cable spans early, operators can take preventative measures, protecting the cables from threats like fishing trawlers or anchors from passing vessels. AP Sensing’s innovation significantly enhances the safety and reliability of submarine cable operations, providing substantial benefits to the industry. Please click the link to learn more about AP Sensing’s Offshore Wind Innovation

AP Sensing – Sensing in Offshore Wind

 

2024 Sensing in Telecom Award

Winner: Go!Foton – Triplet Duality of DAS/P-OTDR/OPM” technology invention
The award recognizes a technology invention and its pending new product. Please click the link to learn more about Go!Foton’s Telecom Innovation.

Go!Foton – Sensing in Telecom

 

2023
FOSA 2023 Premier Member Awards

2023 FOSA Innovation Award 

Winner: Hifi Lay Flat Frac Line Monitoring
Hifi was recognized as the winner for its innovation and proof-of-concept combining Chevron Lay Flat Frac Line Monitoring (LFFL) products integrated with the Hifi High Fidelity Distributed Sensing (HDS™) system. Lay Flat Frac Lines (LFFL) carry recycled produced water from hydraulic fracturing operations in 8 to 14-inch diameter expandable lines. These lines are set up and commissioned on a portable basis and therefore are not buried, but instead lay on the ground in between fracking pumps. Hifi was tasked by Chevron to customize their HDS technology and provide a distributed monitoring alternative to Chevron’s traditional approach. Hifi successfully delivered a unique solution accommodating all installation and performance challenges, in turn minimizing need for manual inspections. Hifi’s technology was able to detect an extremely low-level water leak (less than one liter per minute) on one LFFL that escaped detection by all other means, enabling Chevron to quickly find and address the issue.

Runner-up: VIAVI Solutions Simultaneous Temperature and Strain Sensing: determining custom fiber cable response coefficients in real-world, field installations
VIAVI Solutions received accolades as runner-up for its innovative approach invoking Brillouin frequency shift and the Landau-Paczek ratio to simultaneously measure temperature and strain in a single optical fiber using the VIAVI Solutions Brillouin-Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR). Measurements were conducted over the past few years and were post-processed to demonstrate the methodology and capability of the instrument to precisely tune and calibrate for use on field-installed fiber optic sensor cables. Special attention was paid to development, for field use, of methods to accurately determine calibration coefficients, offsets, and cross-sensitivity compensation to clear hurdles to commercial adoption of this approach.

2023 FOSA Project Award

Joint winners: Luna Innovations (OptaSense) and Dura-Line
FOSA Premier members teamed up on a 2-year Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) project entitled “Using Fiber for Situational Awareness Along Roadways.” The area under investigation included canyon routes from Salt Lake City, Utah, to popular tourist destinations for the state, including the ski resorts of Alta and Park City. The deployment included LUNA’s Traffic Monitoring Solution (TMS) coupled to telecommunications-grade optical fiber within an existing fiber optic cable protected in Dura-Line conduit. The purpose of the field-trial was to assess emerging Smart Road applications including vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic/road monitoring, crash detection and classification, monitoring for natural hazards common to Utah such as snow avalanches and rockfalls, and utility protection, all in addition to complementary traffic monitoring of vehicle speed and congestion. Distributed Acoustic Sensing information generated by LUNA’s TMS solution fed directly into the UDOT Blyncsy Pulse software dashboard, improving situational awareness through real-time monitoring and event alerts and alarms. Additionally, as new detection methods were added their results were extended, providing immediate notification to stakeholders via email.

Runner-up: SAMM Teknoloji
SAMM Teknoloji in recognition of collaboration invoking distributed fiber optic sensing technology. SAMM Teknoloji worked with the Istanbul Municipality Gas Distribution Industry and Trade Joint Stock Company on an “Earthquake Early Warning System.” The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) includes a segment known as the Marmara that runs through the Sea of Marmara. The fault has been identified as a potential seismic hazard for the region. The most recent major earthquake in the region was the 1999 Mw 7.4 Izmit earthquake that caused extensive damage and loss of life in the Istanbul metropolitan area. To understand the behavior of the Marmara segment and improve seismic hazard assessment and mitigation strategies in the region, a project for Earthquake Early Warning was initiated by Istanbul Gas Distribution Industry and Trade, Inc. (GDAS) with the support of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) and Energy Markets Regulatory Authority (EMRA). The project started in September 2022 using SAMM Teknoloji fiber-optic distributed acoustic sensing system product (FOTAS) for real-time seismic activity detection and analysis, providing valuable information for earthquake early warning systems. SAMM Teknoloji also developed artificial intelligence (AI) to identify patterns and trends that may indicate seismic activity.

FOSA 2023 Champion of Innovation Award presented to Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and J.D. Vance (R) based on their extraordinary leadership in the 118th Congress toward enhancing the safety and security of the U.S. rail system

2022
2022 FOSA Innovation Award 

FOSA 2022 Premier Member Product Innovation Award winner: Hifi

 

 

FOSA Presents Champion of Innovation Award to Representative Chuck Fleishmann (R-TN) 2022

 

2021
FOSA inaugural Premier member awards program 2021 Innovation Award winner OptaSense and Runner-up tie between FEBUS Optics and Network Integrity Systems

Winner: OptaSense – for its Development of static strain and temperature sensing in a Rayleigh backscatter-based system
Runner-Up: Tie between
FEBUS Optics – FEBUS G1-C/CX and
Network Integrity Systems – Pulse™ Sensor Verification System

 

2021 Project Award winner tie between Fotech Solutions and Hifi

Fotech Solutions – Air Quality Simulation project – part of SIMULATE Live Lab program, Air Quality Challenge

Hifi – Trans Mountain Expansion Pipeline project

 

FOSA Presents 2021 Champion of Innovation Awards to Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Representative John Katko (R-NY)

 

2020
FOSA Presents 2020 Champion of Innovation Award to PHMSA Administrator Howard “Skip” Elliott

The Fiber Optic and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Administrator Skip Elliott’s leadership in creating a pipeline research, development, and testing capability at the Transportation Technology Center in Pueblo, Colorado.

“A research, development, and test site takes a giant step toward improving pipeline safety in the United States,” said FOSA Chairman Mike Hines of OFS. “The Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Railroad Administration, Federal Highway Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and other agencies each have centers for the validation of new technologies and techniques with time-tested examples of improved safety. No such resource has existed for pipelines. Thanks to Skip Elliott, a comprehensive pipeline safety test site is now in the works.”

2019
FOSA Presents 2019 Champion of Innovation Awards to Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA)

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association recognized Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Representative Anna G. Eshoo (D-CA) as recipients of FOSA’s Champion of Innovation Award for 2019. The selection is based on their extraordinary leadership in enhancing the safety and security of U.S. critical infrastructure through the use of advanced technology.

“Representative Anna Eshoo and Senator Deb Fischer understand the positive contribution that technology makes to society,” said FOSA Chairman JJ Williams of OptaSense. “Both of FOSA’s honorees have promoted common sense legislation advancing the adoption of promising new solutions. We are proud to recognize Senator Fischer and Representative Eshoo as Champions of Innovation.”

As Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety, Sen. Fischer has worked to advance the capacity of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to test promising new safety and security technologies.

Among Rep. Eshoo’s numerous technology initiatives has been to author the U.S. “Dig Once” legislation, facilitating installation of broadband conduit along America’s highways.

“These awards represent our appreciation to Sen. Fischer and Rep. Eshoo for their leadership in facilitating the use of new technologies, and we look forward to working with them in the future,” added Mike Hines of OFS and FOSA Vice Chairman.

 

2018

FOSA Presents 2018 Champion of Innovation Awards to Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Representative Will Hurd (R-TX)

The Fiber Optic Sensing Association recognized Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and Representative Will Hurd (R-TX) as recipients of FOSA’s Champion of Innovation Award for 2018. The selection, based on the extraordinary leadership demonstrated by Tester and Hurd in the 115th Congress to make U.S. security programs more effective through advanced technology, was made at FOSA’s annual conference in Washington, DC.

As the Ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, Senator Tester has encouraged the federal government to adopt the use of advanced technology, like fiber optic sensing, to solve border security and other security challenges. He has used his leadership role to provide funding to government agencies focused on solving issues of critical national security.

One of Representative Hurd’s signature bills in the 115th Congress was H.R. 3479, the “Secure Miles with All Resources and Technology Act” or SMART Act, a bill that directs the Department of Homeland Security to deploy the most practical and effective technology available, such as radar, tunnel detection technology, unmanned aerial vehicles, and sensors, to achieve situational awareness and operational control along the U.S. border.

“Congressman Hurd has brought to the Congress his experience in both technology and national security,” said FOSA Vice-Chairman John Williams of OptaSense. “Augmenting border security through advanced technology has support on both sides of the aisle and we appreciate his leadership in this regard.”

“We are pleased to recognize Senator Tester and Congressman Hurd as Champions of Innovation and look forward to working with them in the future,” Williams said.