Methods And Devices For Denoising Optical Time-Domain Reflectometry Signals

An optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) device comprising:

• a laser configured to emit a series of light pulses into an optical fiber;
• a light detector configured to acquire a plurality of OTDR traces, wherein the OTDR traces represent backscatter from respective light pulses of the series of emitted light pulses propagated through the optical fiber;
• and
• a computing device configured to:
• receive the plurality of OTDR traces from the light detector;
• calculate, based on the plurality of OTDR traces, a mean OTDR trace;
• and
• determine, using a machine-learned model, a set of correction factors, wherein the correction factors represent point-wise modifications that, when applied to the mean OTDR trace, produce a denoised mean OTDR trace, and wherein the correction factors are determined based on the plurality of OTDR traces.

A non-transitory, computer-readable medium having instructions stored therein, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processor, perform a method comprising:

• receiving a plurality of optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) traces, wherein the OTDR traces represent backscatter from respective light pulses propagated through an optical fiber;
• calculating, based on the plurality of OTDR traces, a mean OTDR trace;
• and
• determining, using a machine-learned model, a set of correction factors, wherein the correction factors represent point-wise modifications that, when applied to the mean OTDR trace, produce a denoised mean OTDR trace, and wherein the correction factors are determined based on the plurality of OTDR traces.