Professor Marco Ruffini of the School of Computer Science and Statistics and an ADAPT academic delivered a keynote address at EuCNC 2026, presenting work on AI-enabled optical networks for situational awareness and resilient infrastructure.
The talk, titled “When Networks Sense: AI-enabled Optical Networks for Situational Awareness and Resilient Infrastructure”, outlined how fibre optic cables used for data transmission can also function as large-scale sensing systems. When combined with artificial intelligence, these networks can detect vibrations, vessel movements, seismic activity, and potential infrastructure threats across thousands of kilometres, effectively forming a real-time monitoring layer for digital and physical environments.
Applications discussed included maritime domain awareness through the Sea-Scan project and critical infrastructure monitoring, along with future directions toward fully integrated sensing and communications within the same network fabric.
Professor Ruffini co-leads the Sea-Scan project, which last week received the Innovation Award at the Analytics and AI Awards in Dublin.
