Revised photonic sensor market report released

The Photonic Sensor Consortium has released a revised and expanded market report into the distributed fibre optic sensor market. In 2013 the market stood at US$585 million and was projected to approach US$1.5 billion in 2018, with 70% associated with the oil and gas segments. The report finds that the sudden and unexpected drop in oil prices will negatively impact the market, with the overall forecast falling short of the $1.5 billion forecast. The long-term picture is still optimistic but a short-term contraction is likely.

The expanded report provides much greater detail into how the market is forecast for specific technologies. Data is provided in graphic and tabular formats. The market is broken down for DTS, Bragg grating, DAS, interferometric and Brillouin scattering technologies in relation to the various market segment applications (oil and gas, military, homeland security, smart structures, etc). In addition, the two dominant technologies (DTS and Bragg gratings) show relative market share by the major suppliers.

Distributed fibre optic sensors are an enabling technology that creates smart systems in a variety of applications. The initial commercialisation efforts focused on military applications. However, the need to function in harsh environments and the development of optical fibre technology that can survive in these applications has significantly impacted the oil and gas industry. These smart sensing systems provide benefits throughout the life of a well — from exploration to drilling and completion, production and reservoir management. There is no other technology that can provide critical process control information spatially throughout the well in real time over long periods. Without smart well technology, fracture monitoring and analysis and applications like steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) would be very difficult to effectively implement.  

The forecast covers distributed fibre optic sensing systems including sensor elements, fibre optic cables, interrogators and software. The worldwide market excluding China is covered, while the market segments covered are:

• Oil and gas seismic
• Oil and gas in-well
• Oil and gas pipelines
• Wind energy turbines
• Geothermal
• Utility power lines
• Military — hydrophone
• Military — security
• Military — shipboard/avionic
• Homeland security — intrusion/chemical
• Infrastructure
• Industrial process control

Most physical properties can be sensed optically with fibres. Light intensity, displacement (position), temperature, pressure, rotation, sound, strain, magnetic field, electric field, radiation, flow, liquid level, chemical analysis and vibration are just some of the phenomena that can be sensed.