DOMESTIC TECHNOLOGY PREVENTING COLLAPSES

[Anchor Lead]

Innocent casualties are often caused by building collapses or landslides. Domestic researchers have developed a technology to prevent such incidents using fiber-optic cables. Here's more.

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A stage at a club collapses. The accident killed two people and injured 34 others. Last month in Busan, a typhoon-caused landslide took four lives. A significant number of casualties is reported every year as the result of such tragic incidents. A new technology has been developed to efficiently detect a structure's flaws to prevent such disasters. The Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science developed a smart fiber-optic sensor that can monitor and detect in real time, intensely deformed, transfigured spots in bridges or buildings. Fiber-optic cables, which transmit data through light, can be used to measure weight and temperature, as the frequency of light changes when the cables are placed under weight. No separate measurement sensors are needed and fiber-optic cables are low-priced, costing about 1,000 won per meter. Cracks and damage in structures can be detected in real time, if the cables are installed throughout them, like a nerve network in the human body. With the use of light, the new method boasts higher accuracy, compared to existing metal electric sensors.

[Soundbite] KWON IL-BEOM(KOREA RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF STANDARDS AND SCIENCE) : "Electric sensors are susceptible to erosion and affected greatly by electromagnetic noise. But fiber-optic sensors are not sensitive to such noise."

The research team expects the technology to be applied in aerospace, defense or security sectors where any small device deformation could lead to critical results.