Fiber optic personnel safety systems and methods of using the same

A mine monitoring system comprising:

• a host node remote from a mine to be monitored, the host node including an optical source for generating optical signals, and an optical receiver;
• and
• a plurality of fiber optic sensors local to the mine to be monitored, the plurality of fiber optic sensors for converting acoustical energy to optical intensity information, each of the fiber optic sensors including:
• (1) at least one length of optical fiber affixed along a portion of the mine to sense acoustical energy within the mine;
• (2) a reflector at an end of the at least one length of optical fiber;
• and (3) a field node for receiving optical signals from the host node, the field node transmitting optical signals along the at least one length of optical fiber, the field node receiving optical signals back from the at least one length of optical fiber, and the field node transmitting optical signals to the optical receiver of the host node.

A marine vessel monitoring system comprising:

• a host node within a marine vessel to be monitored, the host node including an optical source for generating optical signals, and an optical receiver;
• and
• a plurality of fiber optic sensors mounted within the marine vessel to be monitored, the plurality of fiber optic sensors for converting vibrational energy to optical intensity information, each of the fiber optic sensors including:
• (1) at least one length of optical fiber affixed within the marine vessel;
• (2) a reflector at an end of the at least one length of optical fiber;
• and (3) a field node for receiving optical signals from the host node, the field node transmitting optical signals along the at least one length of optical fiber, the field node receiving optical signals back from the at least one length of optical fiber, and the field node transmitting optical signals to the optical receiver of the host node.

A vehicle monitoring system comprising:

• a host node remote from a vehicle to be monitored, the host node including an optical source for generating optical signals, and an optical receiver;
• a plurality of fiber optic sensors remote from the vehicle to be monitored, the plurality of fiber optic sensors for converting acoustical energy to optical intensity information, each of the fiber optic sensors including:
• (1) at least one length of optical fiber;
• (2) a reflector at an end of the at least one length of optical fiber;
• and (3) a field node for receiving optical signals from the host node, the field node transmitting optical signals along the at least one length of optical fiber, the field node receiving optical signals back from the at least one length of optical fiber, and the field node transmitting optical signals to the optical receiver of the host node;
• and
• a beacon configured to be local to the vehicle to be monitored, the beacon emitting acoustic vibrations at at least one predetermined frequency, the acoustic vibrations to be sensed by at least one of the fiber optic sensors.

A method of operating a personnel monitoring system comprising:

• (a) storing a plurality of predetermined characteristics of events to be monitored using an optical detection system in memory;
• (b) comparing a detected characteristic obtained from the optical detection system to the plurality of predetermined characteristics stored in memory;
• and
• (c) determining if there is an acceptable level of matching between the detected characteristic and at least one of the plurality of predetermined characteristics stored in memory.