Distributed Fiber Optic Sensor Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Application, By Technology, By Vertical (Oil & Gas, Power & Utility, Safety & Security), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2019 - 2025

Industry Insights

The global distributed fiber optic sensor market size was valued at USD 892.0 million in 2018 and is anticipated to register a CAGR of 10.8% from 2019 to 2025. Application of optic sensing has increased substantially across various business sector including automotive, aerospace, civil, energy, and others. Other types of sensing technologies, such as Raman Effect-based and Rayleigh’s effect-based sensing have distinct operational capabilities.

The market for Distributed Fiber Optic Sensor (DFOS) is anticipated to witness substantial growth in the, due to combination of numerous factors, such as the increasing investments and research undertaken by the prominent players to upgrade and develop the optic sensing technology application arena. Growing demand for a cost-effective and power-efficient centralized monitoring system with a high level of integration is expected to impel the demand over the forecast period. Growing awareness about the benefits of DFOS in developing regions is projected to further boost the market.

Some of the major factors driving growth in demand for distributed fiber optic sensors are reliance on optical sensing technology in challenging surroundings, increasing applications in the oil and gas vertical, and the rising demand from civil engineering and transportation infrastructure verticals. However, mechanical concerns in the installation of these sensors act as confining factors for market growth. The DFOS sensors are deployed for measuring a wide variety of technical parameters, ranging from chemical composition to mechanical measurements such as strain and temperature sensing, and liquid level monitoring, among others. These sensors are robust, resistant to electromagnetic interference, highly sensitive, and lightweight and therefore are widely used. Based on their operation modes, these sensors can be further bifurcated, into extrinsic and intrinsic.

Use of technologies such as Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) and Optical Frequency Domain Reflectometry (OFDR) to characterize fiber optics by carrying out a quality inspection of accuracy, range, and resolution is one of the key trends observed in the market. The integration of advanced technologies such as Real-Time Thermal Rating (RTTR) and intelligent Distributed Acoustic Sensor (iDAS) technologies are other prominent technological trends. An increasing number of investments to carry out R&D activities to introduce innovative fiber cables and provide reliable connectivity at high-speed and the lowest possible price is trending in the market.

Application Insights

Based on application, the distributed fiber optic sensor market has been segmented into acoustic/vibration sensing, tempertaure sensing, and others. These sensors help generate continuous profile of strain, acoustics, temperature, or conditions along the entire length of the fiber. The temperature sensing segment is anticipated to dominate the distributed fiber optic sensors application scope in terms of market share by 2025. The vibration/acoustic segment is anticipated to witness a significant growth, owing to its increasing adoption across the security application segment.

DFOS is widely used to enable high detection accuracy for long distances. It provides critical data for wide range of applications. It provides an economical option for monitoring physical parameter sensing in difficult operating conditions at multiple points. The temperature and acoustic/vibration segments are expected to witness steadiness in their growth and govern the market in terms of growth rates over the forecast period. However, factors, such as high initial capital investment (required to manufacture and deploy new DFOS technologies) may impede the demand over the forecast period.

Technology Insights

Based on technology, the market is segmented into the Rayleigh effect, Brillouin scattering, Raman Effect, interferometric, and Bragg Grating. The Raman Effect segment is anticipated to dominate in terms of market share by 2025. The Raman scattering-based distributed fiber optic sensors are widely used in dynamic applications across the oil and gas and construction sector. Raman scattering is the most adopted method, owing to its accuracy in measuring physical parameters and its characteristics of upholding a balance between the range to which it can sense physical parameters.

The Rayleigh scattering segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. This scattering is caused by the microscopic variations in the refractive index of the fiber core caused by the fluctuations in composition and density of the optical fiber. Rayleigh scattering based sensors are considered to be only a set of sensors which has an equal amount of sensitivity to almost any kind of changes in physical parameters (strain, temperature, and others). In this scattering method, only scattering is used to track and reveal propagating effects, which helps in sensing various physical parameters. This is one of the major reasons behind the Rayleigh scattering effect being used to measure almost all the physical parameters falling in the ambit of distributed fiber optic sensor.

Vertical Insights

Based on verticals, the market has been segmented into oil and gas, power and utility, safety and security, industrial, and civil engineering. The oil and gas vertical is focusing on the acceptance of the technology for refining the outputs of oil and gas fields. This is expected to portray the oil and gas vertical as the largest consumer of distributed fiber optic sensors in the years to come. The vertical is anticipated to hold the largest market size over the forecast period. The DFOS has become a vital fragment of the oil and gas industry.

The distributed fiber optic sensors are used for observing real-time and continuous downhole properties to enhance the economic and operational performances of in the utility and oil and gas vertical. These sensors are widely used in the power and utility vertical primarily for power cable monitoring. The primary reason behind the use of distributed sensors in this vertical is for the detection of hotspots, which can prevent any future unwanted accidents. The industrial segment is anticipated to witness a significant growth rate in the forecast period.

Regional Insights

North America is expected to surface as the leading region in terms of revenue over the forecast period. This growth of the region is attributed to the rising adoption of the fiber optic sensing technology across various verticals, including the oil and gas sector. Shale gas exploration market in U.S. is anticipated to recuperate once the crude oil prices start increasing, which would subsequently lead to rising demand for DOFS in U.S. The country is the largest oil and gas producer in North America and is driving the growth of the regional market owing to the presence of large oil and gas vertical.

The high penetration rates of the infrastructure and construction sectors and the expanding safety and security sector are strengthening the Asia Pacific market. The growing penetration of transportation infrastructure in developing economies, such as China and India, is attributable to the significant growth of distributed fiber optic sensor technology in the region. An increasing need for data-driven decisions in industries, such as civil engineering, power and utility, and others are furthermore driving the Asia Pacific DFOS market. The market in Europe is expected to hold moderate market share and growth rate owing to rising technological advancements in fiber optic sensing in the region.

Distributed Fiber Optic Sensor Market Share Insights

The key market participants are Halliburton, Schlumberger Limited, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, OFS Fitel, LLC, Qinetiq Group PLC, Omnisens SA, Brugg Kable AG, Luna Innovations Incorporated, and AP Sensing GmbH. The DFOS equipment manufacturers and service providers have undertaken considerable mergers and acquisitions in the recent-past to gain access to numerous technological patents in the distributed fiber optic sensor application domain and enhance their service portfolios. The vendors are focusing on launching new products to gain a competitive edge. For instance, in September 2018, Yokogawa Electric Corporation announced the launch of a fiber optic heat detector named DTSX1. It is an OpreX Field Instruments fire detection solution and heat sensing tool. The sensor is an all-in-one fire detection and facility management solution.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in Report

This report forecasts revenue growth at global, regional, and country levels and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2025. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the global distributed fiber optic sensor market report based on application, technology, vertical, and region:

• Application Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Temperature Sensing

  • Acoustic/Vibration Sensing

  • Other

• Technology Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Rayleigh Effect

  • Brillouin Scattering

  • Raman Effect

  • Interferometric

  • Bragg Grating

• Vertical Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • Oil & Gas

  • Power and Utility

  • Safety & Security

  • Industrial

  • Civil Engineering

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2014 - 2025)

  • North America 

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • U.K.

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • Japan

    • India

  • South America

    • Brazil

  • MEA