At the Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) 2025 conference in Oslo, Dr. Bernd Drapp, Innovation Director at AP Sensing, was honored with the Best Newcomer Award for bringing a new perspective to the field with a presentation on how Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS) enhances the protection of critical subsea infrastructure.
Modern society depends on an intricate web of subsea assets — from communication and power cables to pipelines. These vital systems face growing risks from human activities and hybrid threats. In his award-winning work, Dr. Drapp demonstrates how DAS turns existing fiber optic cables into a dense array of acoustic sensors — capable of detecting anchor drags, vessel movements, and even divers in real time.
The paper details:
- Real-world offshore wind farm tests, where DAS reliably identified ships and underwater activity
- How machine learning enables automated vessel tracking using acoustic patterns
- Why DAS is ideal for cost-effective, large-scale deployments — no need for new hardware
- How DAS supports multi-layered sensor integration with sonar, radar, and surveillance networks
This research forms part of the FIBERMARS project, co-funded by the European Defence Fund, and paves the way for smarter, faster, and more scalable maritime protection strategies.
Are you exploring advanced solutions to monitor and secure your coastal or subsea infrastructure? Dr. Bernd Drapp is happy to answer your questions.
