Intelligent Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing in Transportation Infrastructures: Research Progress, Applications, and Challenges
Abstract
Distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS), along with its capabilities of long-range coverage, multi-parameter monitoring, and completely passive detection, emerges as one of the most promising non-destructive detection techniques for structural health monitoring (SHM) and operational assessment of linear transportation infrastructures. In this paper, we provide a state-of-the-art review on DOFS applications across typical linear infrastructure systems, encompassing highways, long-span bridges, rail transit networks, airport runways, and analogous linear structures. The comprehensive discussion consists of four critical research dimensions: 1) optical fiber selection for multi-parameter sensing and robust cable packaging techniques, 2) distributed sensing principles and signal processing algorithms, 3) diverse application scenarios in SHM and related fields, and 4) anomaly detection and event classification methodologies. Building upon the foundational introduction of DOFS technical principles and monitoring solutions for intelligent transportation infrastructure, this paper elaborates on system design approaches, sensing data analytics algorithms, and future research directions.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2601.13891,
title = {Intelligent Distributed Optical Fiber Sensing in Transportation Infrastructures: Research Progress, Applications, and Challenges},
author = {Xin Gui and Fanhao Zeng and Yunchuan Zhang and Yiming Wang and Jiaqi Wang and Changjia Wang and Xuelei Fu and Sheng Li and Fang Liu and Lina Yue and Jinpeng Jiang and Zhengying Li},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.13891},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
16 pages, 2 figures, 6 tables, submitted to a journal for peer review