Highly flexible and distributed strain-sensing optical fiber and system using the same

A strain-sensing system, comprising:

• an optical fiber configured to sense a mechanical force on the fiber and in response, emit a spectrum of colored lights, wherein the optical fiber comprises a linear array of sensor nodes disposed along a central core of the optical fiber, and each sensor node is configured to emit a select one of the colored lights upon sensing the mechanical force at a location of the sensor node;
• at least one optical detector coupled to the optical fiber and configured to:
• detect the spectrum of colored lights emitted by the sensor nodes, and generate an output signal based on the detected spectrum, the output signal representing strain information for corresponding node locations along the optical fiber;
• and
• at least one processor communicatively coupled to the at least one optical detector and a database, the at least one processor configured to:
• receive the output signal from the at least one optical detector;
• derive the strain information from the output signal;
• store the strain information in the database in association with the corresponding node locations;
• and
• generate, based on information obtained from the database, a strain map for the optical fiber.