I am working on a project where I would like use optical fibers as sensors for measuring strain, perturbance and shape sensing. The required hardware and measurement devices are usually very expensive and thus inappropriate in my case, so I was wondering if there are any solutions available with commercial microcontrollers, which would consequently drastically lower the expenses? Are there perhaps any demo projects or articles out there about designing of low-budget optical fiber systems? I am aware that optical emitters represent a major cost as well, so I was wondering where may I find any comparisons on price/performance ratio?

I know that a company named Darma has managed to build a similar system according to the photos here: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sncu1b7c2lknc0u/AABfOkkTa3hHn6IlD_gg1fqZa?dl=0 , so I am really curious what components did they use.

 

I don't see any pictures of optical fibers. Just 3 PCB's and some people sitting, standing, and walking. What are we supposed to make of that?

 

Check out sensormag.com. They over a lot of info on fo sensors.