Industrial Applications of Optical Fiber

When we talk of fiber optics, what you’ll likely imagine are telecommunications. After all, it is in that field where you are most likely to recognize the cables. Their ability to use light as a means of transmitting information makes it easier to connect communities, cities, and even countries. However, the use of light as a means of delivering information signals has applications in other industries and fields.

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While your internet connection might be the result of OTS fiber optic cable delivering information to and from a service provider, that same technology sees action in other places. Let’s take a look at the other areas and fields where this light-based communications cable has made an impact.

Computers and IT

Let’s start with computing and IT-related functions. The light-based signals of fiber optic technology make it a reliable means of getting data into or out of anything that stores or processes that data. This could mean anything from web servers that provide the backbone of the internet to facilities that store information for an internal network, like a corporate enterprise.

The speed of transmission means that sharing, accessing, and altering the data happens in real-time. There are no noticeable delays if the operation is going as smoothly as intended.

Defense and Military Applications

Defense contracts have also been known to use fiber optics. There are many possible military applications, though some might not be revealed to the public. Among the ones that are known include wiring in aircraft and submarines, to improve the response time between command inputs and the reaction of the vehicle. Field networking is also a likely area.

Government

Government functions extend beyond this, of course. Departments that monitor seismic activity rely on hydrophones and SONAR, which both make use of fiber optic transmission lines to send the data in real-time. This allows for faster analysis of the data and warnings in the event of an earthquake, giving emergency services that much more time to prepare.

Closed Networking

Networking applications outside of communications also make use of light signals in fiber optics.

One of the key elements here is how accurate the information is because it’s so hard to disrupt the signal provided the internal reflective surfaces are working properly.

Industrial Networking

You will often see fiber optics see heavy use in networks where speed and accuracy of the data are important. These include Mexico manufacturing companies and their smart factories, where information and commands must be issued or received in real-time. Other areas include internal networks where operations are time-sensitive and even a few research applications.

Safety Controls

One important area for this would be safety. Industrial machinery can be dangerous, and many are built with safety features and controls. Many of these will have redundancies and fail-safes, just in case. One way to provide additional safety is to use fiber optics to deliver commands to the machinery, causing them to stop if any sensors detect activity that shouldn’t be there.