Global Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: Insights

Distributed acoustic sensing is a novel sensing technology that is capable of continuously detecting disturbances like vibrations, sound, and temperature variation over long distances through an optic fiber. The distributed acoustic sensor is attached to one end of the optic fiber and from the other continuous pulses of light from a laser are transmitted through the fiber every second. The variations in the environment like vibrations cause the light to be reflected. By studying the reflections, the sensors cananalyze the type of threat and allow the operator to take the necessary action. Traditional sensors are only capable of sensing changes at predetermined points, the distributed acoustic sensors are capable of providing continuous monitoring along the length of the optic fiber which can go up to kilometers in range. Distributed acoustic systems have a high temporal and spatial resolution, a large detection range, dynamic and quantitative analysis, good concealment, and chemical resistance. These advantages over conventional sensors have increased the demand for distributed acoustic sensors in the market. With advancements in fiber technology combined with distributed acoustic sensing, operators are now able to sense the vibrations happening around the fiber and can identify the type of intrusion based on the reflection of light. Distributed acoustic sensors are used in the oil and gas industry to monitor their pipelines, military applications to monitor the borders of a country to prevent unlawful intrusions, to detect movement of vehicles, deep-sea cable management, among other users. The growing demand for long-distance monitoring, cheap fiber optics technology, the long life cycle of the sensors, and growing demand in the oil and gas industry are the major drivers of this technology. There have also been stricter governmental regulations in recent times to prevent leakages of pipelines as well as an increasing need for stricter border control and the ability to monitor the traffic within cities without having to install cameras every few kilometers have all contributed to the growth of the distributed acoustics market. The market is restrained by the complexity of the analysis techniques that have to be employed to use the data generated by the distributed acoustic sensors and the lack of an industry standard for the distributed acoustic sensors available in the market.

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: By Component

Based on the components, the distributed acoustic market can be segmented into hardware, visualization software, and services.The hardware segment includes all the hardware that is required to set up the distributed acoustic sensor system like the interrogator unit which collects the data and the optic fiber which acts as the medium. The visualization software is expected to grow at the fastest rate among all segments. The visualization software allows the operator to see where the intrusions are occurring on a site map and allows for real-time monitoring. As with any software, the software is being constantly updated and new software is created frequently which is expected to increase the demand for the software segment of the distributed acoustic sensing market.           

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: By Fiber Type

According to the fiber type, the distributed acoustic market can be segmented into single-mode and multimode fiber. The single-mode fiber segment is expected to hold the dominant share of the market during the forecast period. The single-mode fibers allow for an increased range of detection than multimode fibers thereby allowing operators to monitor large pipelines that can extend up to 50 kilometers. Although multimode fibers are cheaper, single-mode fibers have a larger range and have greater efficiency than multimode which is expected to increase the growth of the single-mode fiber segment

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: By Industry

Based on the industry, the distributed acoustic sensing market is segmented into oil & gas, infrastructure, military, transportation, and others. The oil & gas segment is expected to hold the dominant share of the market. Distributed acoustic sensors are ideal for pipeline monitoring in the oil & gas industry. These sensors are capable of monitoring large pipelines that range in kilometres. Distributed acoustic sensors can help prevent leakages, detect illegal tapping, fall of equipment, vehicle movement, and proximity of other intrusions. The wide range of applications in the oil & gas industry is driven by the ability of the distributed acoustic sensors to accurately differentiate the various threats to the pipelines in real-time.

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: By Region

The North American region is expected to hold the dominant share of the market. The region has a large number of oil & gas industries with long pipelines that need to be monitored. The exploration in the region for shale oil and the growing number of fiber optic applications in the region is expected to consolidate the dominant position of the region in the distributed acoustic sensing market. The APAC region is expected to grow at the fastest rate. The region has seen an increase in the number of telecommunications applications of fiber optics, increase oil & gas activities especially in China, growing stringent government regulations against pipeline leakages, and the growing investment in smart city traffic management infrastructure are expected to drove the growth of the distributed acoustic sensing market in the region.

Distributed Acoustic Sensing Market: Share & Competitor Analysis

Fiber SenSys (US),Halliburton (US), Schlumberger (US), Baker Hughes (US), Future Fibre Technologies (Australia), OptaSense (UK), Fotech Solutions (UK), Hifi Engineering (Canada), Bandweaver (China), Omnisens (Switzerland), Aragon Photonics (Spain), Silixa (UK), Solifos (Switzerland), OFS (US), fibrisTerre (Germany), Febus Optics (France), Senstar (Canada), Febus Optics (France), AP Sensing (Germany), Fibre Completion Services (Canada), T.G. Baker Americas (US), Yokogawa Electric (Japan), Weatherford (US), NKT Photonics (Denmark), and Cementys (France), among others, are the major vendors competing in the distributed acoustic sensing market.

Please note: This is not an exhaustive list of companies profiled in the report.