Concept and Implementation of a Digital Twin for Optical Fiber Sensors and Telecom Fiber Infrastructure

Bernhardt L, Schmauß B, Renner E (2026)

Publication Language: English

Publication Type: Conference contribution, Conference Contribution

Publication year: 2026

Event location: Prag CZ

ISBN: 979-8-3195-4420-9

DOI: 10.1109/ICTON71309.2026.11705133

Open Access Link: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11705133

Abstract

Optical fiber sensors and existing telecommunication infrastructure are increasingly used for environmental sensing and infrastructure monitoring. The large volumes of data generated by distributed sensing interrogators require advanced methods for data handling, interpretation, and event detection. In this paper, we propose a digital twin framework for optical fiber infrastructure to facilitate efficient data management and the extraction of meaningful sensing events. The conceptual design of the here described digital twin is based on three components - Description, History, and Applications - which together enable continuous data exchange between physical fiber assets and their virtual representations. The digital twin is implemented as a modular web-based architecture using a variety of services, enabling scalable data ingestion, background processing, and interaction with users and external systems. A hierarchical object model and database structure allow the representation of multiple infrastructure elements as digital twins, ranging from individual fibers to complete cable networks. As a demonstration use case, a maritime monitoring application is implemented that correlates vessel data with fiber locations to identify potential threats and trigger warning events. The proposed framework illustrates how digital twin concepts can enhance the monitoring, interpretation and operational awareness of distributed optical fiber sensing systems.

Authors with CRIS profile

Lukas Bernhardt Professur für Hochfrequenztechnik mit dem Schwerpunkt Optische Hochfrequenztechnik und Photonik Bernhard Schmauß Professur für Hochfrequenztechnik mit dem Schwerpunkt Optische Hochfrequenztechnik und Photonik Esther Renner Professur für Hochfrequenztechnik mit dem Schwerpunkt Optische Hochfrequenztechnik und Photonik

How to cite

APA:

Bernhardt, L., Schmauß, B., & Renner, E. (2026). Concept and Implementation of a Digital Twin for Optical Fiber Sensors and Telecom Fiber Infrastructure. In Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON). Prag, CZ.

MLA:

Bernhardt, Lukas, Bernhard Schmauß, and Esther Renner. "Concept and Implementation of a Digital Twin for Optical Fiber Sensors and Telecom Fiber Infrastructure." Proceedings of the 26th International Conference on Transparent Optical Networks (ICTON), Prag 2026.

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