FOSA presents annual Project Awards

The award presentations were made in Washington, D.C. at the association’s annual member meeting in December.

The 2023 runner-up for FOSA’s prestigious annual Project Award was SAMM Teknoloji in recognition of collaboration invoking distributed fibre 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.

“We are honoured to receive the runner-up award for FOSA 2023 Project of the Year. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, innovation, and dedication of the entire team at SAMM Teknoloji. Our commitment to excellence in fibre sensing has been a driving force, and we are excited to continue pushing boundaries and delivering impactful solutions. This accolade fuels our motivation to contribute meaningfully to the industry. We extend our gratitude to FOSA for this prestigious acknowledgment, and we look forward to unveiling even more groundbreaking initiatives in the future,” commented Bulent Toksoz, Director of R & D and Technology, SAMM Teknoloji.

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 behaviour 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 fibre 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.

Jon Beckman, Vice Chairman of FOSA and Director, Instrument and Business Operations with VIAVI Solutions added, “For FOSA, these projects demonstrate the value-adding potential of distributed fibre optic sensing, across many markets. Furthermore, they emphasise the opportunities of collaboration – the potential for adding value across many industries is far-reaching – we see problem-solving solutions created almost daily.”

The joint winners of FOSA’s 2023 Project award were Luna Innovations (OptaSense) and Dura-Line. These FOSA Premier members teamed up on a 2 year Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) project entitled “Using Fibre 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 fibre within an existing fibre 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.

“LUNA is thrilled to be recognised by FOSA for this achievement. Working closely with the Utah DOT team for a lengthy period allowed time to demonstrate the readiness of LUNA’s TMS solution to help roadway operators close situational awareness gaps. This ground-breaking field-trial also identified events demonstrating the unintended benefits of DAS – it’s always on, always monitoring, and always learning.” Stated JJ Williams, Global Commercial Director for Luna Innovations.

Paul Dickinson, Dura-Line’s Director of Business Development, commented: “We are honoured to have received the FOSA 2023 Project of the Year award. Dura-Line, in collaboration with LUNA, was pleased to work closely with visionary UDOT personnel and have the project recognised for its value to both the transportation and fibre sensing industry. Through existing or newly installed roadside optical fibre with this novel sensing application, departments of transportation throughout the US and world now have the ability to improve life safety, protect infrastructure, and reduce operational expenses."

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/11012024/fosa-presents-annual-project-awards/