Data Compression Solution for ϕ -OTDR: Encoding the Extracted Spectrum

Characterized by the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence, an abundance of data translates into an expanse of potentialities. Consequently, the challenge of storing large amount of data generated by the long-term operation of the distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) system cannot be ignored in practical applications. Leveraging the nonuniform distribution of quantized spectrum values extracted from the Rayleigh backscattering (RBS) signal, this article introduces a data compression solution for DAS system with a compression ratio of 19.53 (corresponding to a space saving ratio of 94.88%). The proposed method not only achieves a high compression ratio but also offers two significant advantages: demodulation of the compressed data enables concurrent acquisition of amplitude and phase information, all while preserving a high density of sensing channels within the DAS system. These advantages facilitate the cost-effective storage of raw acoustic signals with intricate details. Possessing such data enables a more granular analysis of the sensing scene, subsequently enhancing the DAS system’s capacity to interpret events. Furthermore, this enhancement significantly contributes to the advancement and profound development within pertinent application domains.