{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T00:20:31Z","timestamp":1792542031116,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":32,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"19","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1790121600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100006683","name":"XJTLU Research Development Funding","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["RDF-24-02-085"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RDF-24-02-085"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100006683","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Intelligent Manufacturing Project for Underwater Equipment","award":["RDS10120260283"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RDS10120260283"]}]},{"name":"Intelligent Manufacturing and Control Platform for Submarine Cables Based on Industrial Large Models","award":["HTHH-CXY-2026-001"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["HTHH-CXY-2026-001"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Smart cables extend submarine communication infrastructure toward marine environmental sensing and sensing-data backhaul. This paper investigates a multi-core fiber (MCF)-based prototype in which high-speed communication traffic and discrete-sensor data are routed through different spatial cores rather than sharing the same optical core. A 100 km weakly coupled four-core MCF was characterized and used as the central spatial-routing section, with two cores assigned to bidirectional communication and two cores to bidirectional sensing-data backhaul. At 1625 nm, the measured inter-core crosstalk (IC-XT) values for the four reported measurements were \u221253.1, \u221252.6, \u221251.2, and \u221253.7 dB\/100 km. The same MCF section was incorporated into repeatered and unrepeatered hybrid laboratory configurations, with additional single-mode-fiber spans extending the total link lengths to 500 km and 300 km, respectively. Under the tested 400 Gbps condition, no frame loss or system alarm was observed during 17 h of operation; the round-trip delay was approximately 2.35 ms and the packet jitter remained below 0.3\u03bcs. The sensing-node velocity channels recorded transient vibration responses and long-duration spectral distributions consistent with those of a reference CDS-E20 seismometer. These results support the feasibility of spatial-core routing for MCF-based smart cable prototypes.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s26196018","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T09:20:46Z","timestamp":1790155246000},"page":"6018","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Multi-Core-Fiber-Enabled Integrated Communication and Discrete Sensing in Smart Cable Systems: Experimental Demonstration"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Xinyi","family":"Xie","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Xi\u2019an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"validation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0007-3957-3155","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Hao","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Xi\u2019an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4182-4389","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yucheng","family":"Fan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"College of Intelligent Manufacturing, Suzhou Centennial College, Suzhou 215123, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yixin","family":"Gao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Songyi","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Xi\u2019an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Guoxiang","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Undersea Communications and Sensing, Suzhou 215163, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Cheng","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Undersea Communications and Sensing, Suzhou 215163, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Siyuan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Undersea Communications and Sensing, Suzhou 215163, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"resources","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Rendong","family":"Xu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Undersea Communications and Sensing, Suzhou 215163, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"methodology","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Biao","family":"Huang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Intelligent Manufacturing Ecosystem, Xi\u2019an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, Suzhou 215400, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"690","DOI":"10.1038\/466690a","article-title":"Harnessing telecoms cables for science","volume":"466","author":"You","year":"2010","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Howe, B.M., Arbic, B.K., Aucan, J., Barnes, C.R., Bayliff, N., Becker, N., Butler, R., Doyle, L., Elipot, S., and Johnson, G.C. (2019). SMART Cables for Observing the Global Ocean: Science and Implementation. Front. Mar. Sci., 6.","DOI":"10.3389\/fmars.2019.00424"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Lentz, S., and Howe, B.M. (2018, January 28\u201331). Scientific Monitoring And Reliable Telecommunications (SMART) Cable Systems: Integration of Sensors into Telecommunications Repeaters. In Proceedings of OCEANS 2018 MTS\/IEEE Kobe Techno-Oceans (OTO), Kobe, Japan.","DOI":"10.1109\/OCEANSKOBE.2018.8558862"},{"key":"ref_4","unstructured":"ITU\/WMO\/UNESCO-IOC Joint Task Force on SMART Cables (2025). Report of the 10th Workshop on SMART Cables, UNESCO-IOC. Available online: https:\/\/www.itu.int\/en\/ITU-T\/Workshops-and-Seminars\/2025\/0123\/Documents\/Workshop_report_Final.pdf."},{"key":"ref_5","unstructured":"International Telecommunication Union (2024). Scientific Monitoring and Reliable Telecommunication Submarine Cable Systems, ITU-T. Available online: https:\/\/www.itu.int\/ITU-T\/recommendations\/rec.aspx?rec=16051."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Matos, T., Rocha, J.L., Martins, M.S., and Gon\u00e7alves, L.M. (2025). Enhancing Sea Wave Monitoring Through Integrated Pressure Sensors in Smart Marine Cables. J. Mar. Sci. Eng., 13.","DOI":"10.3390\/jmse13040766"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Yu, J., Xu, P., Yu, Z., Wen, K., Yang, J., Wang, Y., and Qin, Y. (2023). Principles and Applications of Seismic Monitoring Based on Submarine Optical Cable. Sensors, 23.","DOI":"10.3390\/s23125600"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104181","DOI":"10.1016\/j.yofte.2025.104181","article-title":"Radiation vulnerability of optical fiber cables for underground nuclear waste monitoring","volume":"92","author":"Perrot","year":"2025","journal-title":"Opt. Fiber Technol."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"656","DOI":"10.1109\/JOE.2018.2876049","article-title":"Design, Characterization, and Test of a Versatile Single-Mode Power-Over-Fiber and Communication System for Seafloor Observatories","volume":"45","author":"Diouf","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE J. Ocean. Eng."},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5348","DOI":"10.1364\/OL.439105","article-title":"Power-over-Fiber in a 10 km-Long Multicore Fiber Link within a 5G Fronthaul Scenario","volume":"46","author":"Rommel","year":"2021","journal-title":"Opt. Lett."},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"617","DOI":"10.1109\/JLT.2017.2731991","article-title":"100-GHz Radio and Power Over Fiber Transmission Through Multicore Fiber Using Optical-to-Radio Converter","volume":"36","author":"Umezawa","year":"2018","journal-title":"J. Light. Technol."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"A21","DOI":"10.1364\/PRJ.563034","article-title":"Advanced SMART network: Empowering subsea monitoring with dense photonic integrated sensing and communication","volume":"13","author":"Cai","year":"2025","journal-title":"Photonics Res."},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1249","DOI":"10.1109\/LPT.2025.3593343","article-title":"Advanced integration of sensing and communication with high digital-signal-processing compatibility for SMART network","volume":"37","author":"Wu","year":"2025","journal-title":"IEEE Photonics Technol. Lett."},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zhu, R., Rao, X., Dai, S., Chen, M., Liu, G., Liu, H., Xu, R., Chen, S., Chen, G.Y., and Wang, Y. (2024). Deep Integration of Fiber-Optic Communication and Sensing Systems Using Forward-Transmission Distributed Vibration Sensing and on\u2013off Keying. Sensors, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/s24175758"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"931","DOI":"10.1126\/science.abe6648","article-title":"Optical polarization-based seismic and water wave sensing on transoceanic cables","volume":"371","author":"Zhan","year":"2021","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"486","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aat4458","article-title":"Ultrastable laser interferometry for earthquake detection with terrestrial and submarine cables","volume":"361","author":"Marra","year":"2018","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"38482","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2025.3587072","article-title":"Bi-directional structure-based forward transmission distributed vibration sensor utilizing single optical fiber","volume":"12","author":"Zhu","year":"2025","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1038\/s41377-022-01067-1","article-title":"Integrated sensing and communication in an optical fiber","volume":"12","author":"He","year":"2023","journal-title":"Light. Sci. Appl."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4825","DOI":"10.1364\/OL.500587","article-title":"Long-range distributed vibration sensing using phase-sensitive forward optical transmission","volume":"48","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Opt. Lett."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5767","DOI":"10.1364\/OL.504740","article-title":"Super-long-range distributed vibration sensor based on the polarimetric forward-transmission of light","volume":"48","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"Opt. Lett."},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Chen, G.Y., Chen, M., Rao, X., Dai, S., Zhu, R., Liu, G., Lu, J., Liu, H., and Wang, Y. (2024). Deep Integration Between Polarimetric Forward-Transmission Fiber-Optic Communication and Distributed Sensing Systems. Sensors, 24.","DOI":"10.3390\/s24216778"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1743","DOI":"10.1109\/JLT.2025.3644664","article-title":"Experimental and Simulative Study on IM-DD Transmission and Large Chirped-Pulse DAS Coexistence","volume":"44","author":"Pellegrini","year":"2026","journal-title":"J. Light. Technol."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.1121\/10.0037218","article-title":"Overview of distributed acoustic sensing: Theory and ocean applications","volume":"158","author":"Xenaki","year":"2025","journal-title":"J. Acoust. Soc. Am."},{"key":"ref_24","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1186","DOI":"10.1364\/OPTICA.427631","article-title":"Space-division multiplexing for optical fiber communications","volume":"8","author":"Puttnam","year":"2021","journal-title":"Optica"},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"662","DOI":"10.1109\/JLT.2009.2039464","article-title":"Capacity limits of optical fiber networks","volume":"28","author":"Essiambre","year":"2010","journal-title":"J. Light. Technol."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"182","DOI":"10.1109\/MCOM.004.2200885","article-title":"Field trials of communication and sensing system in space division multiplexing optical fiber cable","volume":"61","author":"Chen","year":"2023","journal-title":"IEEE Commun. Mag."},{"key":"ref_27","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Cui, J., Zhang, L., Deng, Y., Liu, Z., Wu, C., Hao, B., Zhang, T., Wang, Y., Wu, B., and Zhang, C. (2025). First Real-Time 267.8 Tb\/S 2 \u00d7 70.76 Km Integrated Communication and Sensing Field Trial over Deployed Seven-Core Fiber Cable Using 130 Gbaud PCS-64QAM 1.2 Tb\/S OTN Transponders. Photonics, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/photonics12060577"},{"key":"ref_28","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Agrawal, G.P. (2013). Nonlinear Fiber Optics, Academic Press. [5th ed.].","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-12-397023-7.00011-5"},{"key":"ref_29","first-page":"4400609","article-title":"Crosstalk impact on the performance of wideband multicore-fiber transmission systems","volume":"26","author":"Rademacher","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE J. Sel. Top. Quantum Electron."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Li, W., Xiang, L., and Li, X. (2025). Performance limitations due to intra-core crosstalk and nonlinear interference noise in weakly coupled multi-core fiber transmission systems. Photonics, 12.","DOI":"10.3390\/photonics12030186"},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"936","DOI":"10.1587\/transcom.E97.B.936","article-title":"Behavior of Inter-Core Crosstalk as a Noise and Its Effect on Q-Factor in Multi-Core Fiber","volume":"E97-B","author":"Hayashi","year":"2014","journal-title":"IEICE Trans. Commun."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"530","DOI":"10.1785\/gssrl.81.3.530","article-title":"ObsPy: A Python Toolbox for Seismology","volume":"81","author":"Beyreuther","year":"2010","journal-title":"Seismol. Res. Lett."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/26\/19\/6018\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]],"date-time":"2026-09-23T09:31:15Z","timestamp":1790155875000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/26\/19\/6018"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]},"references-count":32,"journal-issue":{"issue":"19","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10]]}},"alternative-id":["s26196018"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s26196018","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,23]]}}}