Prisma Photonics helps keep the most critical large-scale infrastructure up and running using advanced Hyper-Scan Optic Fiber-Sensing™ technology. Here, CEO & Founder Eran Inbar, PhD, tells us more about how their solution can benefit Japanese utilities and the environment.
Can you tell us a bit about the company and its founders?
In 2017 I founded Prisma Photonics together with Dr Eitan Rowen, alongside a team of experts in fibre sensing, signal processing, and machine learning. Our technology utilises the existing optical fibre laid along power, pipelines, perimeter, and other critical infrastructure, turning it into a continuous acoustic sensor. Advanced mathematical algorithms and machine learning analyse the gathered data, resulting in a breakthrough technology that offers an unparalleled probability of detection while zeroing the false alarm rates.
Today, Prisma Photonics is named as one of the top 30 software innovators in power transmission and monitoring, as it allows utilities to monitor their most critical assets 24/7, accurately, without false or nuisance alarms, paving the way for safer and more efficient operations.
How does your solution contribute to the Digitalisation and Decarbonisation of the energy sector?
Existing optical fibres turned into distributed acoustic sensors alongside infrastructure is no news. However, our novel platform, which improves sensitivity and features extraction by two orders of magnitude compared to the first generation of fibre sensing solutions, together with a novel approach to using AI, enables deploying fibre sensing as a stable, efficient, and very reliable solution for real-time monitoring of the energy grid. This next-generation, real-time monitoring makes it a robust tool for better, greener, and digitalised operations. It allows accuracy over vast distances and enables us to move forward to greener operations, sustainability, and pivotal energy transition.
What is your company’s proudest achievement to date?
Prisma Photonics has won numerous awards for its technical excellence; a technical vote of confidence from the industry. Having said that, I would say that the proudest moment at Prisma is when a customer tells about how our technology helped them quickly and safely solve a critical problem, which would otherwise have a catastrophic environmental effect.
What specifically attracts you about the prospect of expanding to the Japanese market?
As the world’s third-largest economy and a known technology leader, Japan is often ahead of other nations when implementing new technologies and applications. As our focus is on smart, digital asset monitoring through next-gen technology, we firmly believe Japanese utilities can benefit significantly from our solutions, and they will help promote Japan’s Green Growth Strategy as just delivered by Japan’s Prime Minister, Mr Fumio Kishida in the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate on June 17th, 2022.
How will your solution/product help advance the Japanese energy sector?
As Japan’s energy market is constantly promoting green growth and sustainability strategies, our solutions do just that by solving a critical challenge for utility operators. Additionally, the Japanese market, including the energy sector, highly appreciates novel technology that improves quality. This is precisely what characterises Prisma Photonics technology – cutting-edge innovation with the highest quality in performance.