June 14, 2013—The distributed fiber-optic sensor market is expected to reach $586 million in 2013, up from $425 million in 2012, says a report by the Photonic Sensor Consortium, published by Information Gatekeepers. The market is expected to see a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of from 10 percent to 20 percent, depending on the segment, and reach a global market of $1.1 billion in 2016.
Analyst David Krohn, chairman of the consortium, explains that in the past 10 years, the U.S. priority to become independent of foreign oil has ramped up attempts to find oil in places that are hard to reach. This makes oil and gas the dominant segment for distributed fiber sensors because they measure data from multiple points along a fiber, compared to point sensors, which measure change at a single point.
Other segments, including wind turbines, geothermal wells, utility, military, homeland security, smart infrastructure and process control, will have smaller growth.