[kobalsky]

Maybe I'm not understanding the blog post so bear with me. Isn't what he is described what a time domain reflectometer does? [1]. I mean that's what it's used to detect breaks or kinks in fiber optics cables. The same tech is used to detect problems in civil infrastructure with embbeded fiber optics.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_time-domain_reflectome...

[00702]

Oh yeah cable companies have long been able to do that - I wasn't trying to compete with or replace that technology. My work was soft robotics-focused with simplicity in mind.

[georgeburdell]

Yeah my thoughts exactly. OTDR is what the optical networking industry uses (for much larger runs of fiber) to find kinks/breaks.

[moralestapia]

It could still be a novelty if it uses a slightly different method or even materials. Hence why the advice is to get this on the hands of IP experts.

[georgeburdell]

I wasn't commenting on the novelty aspect, I was more wondering in which situations the author's device might be better. Also, the author noted they started with a time of flight sensor, which would have made it extremely similar to OTDR