Pervasive web systems
Fibers are universally ubiquitous in manmade objects, such as clothes and furniture. They are often a base component of reinforced composites. Moreover, optical fibers wrap the Earth in a dense web of telecommunication cables, overall one billion miles long. We are transforming the fiber into a functional device, to make it not only pervasive, but also intelligent. Ability to incorporate functional materials and morphologies into a thermally drawn preform results in integrated nano-devices packed with micrometric pitch into a multiple-kilometers long fiber. Such fibers can listen, watch, palp, smell and taste their surroundings, communicating those sensations to a remote computer. Results of the research in the area of pervasive web systems is applicable to multiple technological areas, such as remote and distributed pollutants detection, psychophysiological monitoring and management, energy harvesting, ultrasonic imaging etc.
