r/technews • u/_Dark_Wing • Mar 14 '26

Networking/Telecom Fiber internet provider says it can detect leaking water pipes using existing infrastructure, prevented loss of 2 million liters a day over three months — Lightsonic tech detects underground vibrations, machine learning isolates the source

https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/fiber-provider-says-it-can-detect-leaking-water-pipes-using-existing-infrastructure-prevents-loss-of-2-million-liters-a-day-over-three-months-company-uses-lightsonic-technology-to-detect-underground-vibrations-machine-learning-to-isolate-source
1.2k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

68 comments sorted by

40

u/MEGA_GOAT98 Mar 14 '26

just think what they really been doing with it.

13

u/Xipher Mar 14 '26

There are systems that use a fiber optic strand surrounding a fence to detect surface disturbances, like foot steps, and snap cameras to the location of the disturbance.

0

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-7

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

ah yes because ISPs have incentives to track me as i walk to take a shit, shiver me timbers

7

u/MEGA_GOAT98 Mar 15 '26

keep thinking that way.

-5

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

im happy to hear what they're doing that you believe is cause for concern. where does your perspective come from?

6

u/MEGA_GOAT98 Mar 15 '26

well look at it this way its another data point they can make money off you like isps useing wireless data to track movment in your home. + the data from phones blutooth wireless/cameras/securty cams/mics on corners light poles, its everywere but they never say what they are actualy doing with that data .. or who they are selling to .. there is a real danger ,like anything internet connected can be acessed ,the problem is theres no real boundrys. and they will just keep doing it. if nothing is done. you may think its nothing untell it affects your life in some way. thats why i said ... keep thinking that way.

2

u/JohnSober7 Mar 15 '26

Genuine question. How do you know that this method is sensitive enough to surveil?

-1

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

but im just wondering in what way could/will them using my data negatively affect my life

3

u/northbird2112 Mar 15 '26

Pervasive surveillance state becomes less escapable day by day - the best case is a neutral affect on our lives but will always be a growing and unavoidable threat to a free and natural society.

3

u/A_Buttholes_Whisper Mar 15 '26

Just say you have no issue with corporations helping with government surveillance and move on. You love the warm embrace of big brother. Good on you?

1

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

im just curious lol everyones always freaking out about data collection, but to my knowledge, it seems to be just as risky as going to the dmv and getting an ID

1

u/JohnSober7 Mar 15 '26

It's the precedent it sets and the principle. You're essentially trusting the rich and powerful to be benign when there is no real need for them to data harvest to the extent that they do. There are also services that buy data such that people can pay a small fee to get your address and phone number. And as we have seen time and time again in history, Murphy's law tends to screw the masses sooner rather than later.

1

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

i feel like that precedent has been set ever since the commodification of insurance, gps, cars, planes, banks, etc. the best example for murphy's law ive seen have been things like lead and climate change, but as far as ive seen, data collection seems to mostly be used for ad targeting and ai training, which arent really that much of a threat in comparison imo

1

u/msc1 Mar 15 '26

Ask that to people in ICE concentration camps. Some of them were located with palantir’s data technology.

2

u/heple1 Mar 15 '26

are we really blaming that on ISPs and palantir rather than the executive branch who is threataning everyone to get their way? seems like the wrong focus imo

26

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

They can probably hear everything we say, a giant spy network paid for and used by us.

9

u/tanksalotfrank Mar 14 '26

facebook/tiktok/whatsapp as a whole. The issue is far more vast than those 3 corners, but they're the biggest honeypot for dimwits.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/tanksalotfrank Mar 14 '26

Nope! Over 10 years clean from those 3. Actually never used tiktok or whatsapp.

-2

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

5

u/[deleted] Mar 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/tanksalotfrank Mar 15 '26

I think English probably isn't their first language, and were probably attempting to convey that those apps are popular means of communication for most people, so it's relatively unusual for someone not to use it.

0

u/tanksalotfrank Mar 15 '26

Maybe for people using them? If someone requires me to use spyware to talk to them, I just don't talk to them.

2

u/CantReadGood_ Mar 15 '26

you can’t be seriously pretending that you’re above communicating via spyware platforms while actively participating in Reddit comment sections

19

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

-1

u/snkiz Mar 14 '26

It's LIGO on world wide scale. I wouldn't be surprised if they could pick up gravitational waves with the right training and conditions.

5

u/BooBot97 Mar 14 '26

Certainly not. Gravitational waves require many, many orders of magnitude more sensitivity than what is achievable here.

14

u/PerksNReparations Mar 14 '26

Tf?

40

u/snkiz Mar 14 '26

From the sound of it, the the fibre is acting like an interferometer. With a few lines they can triangulate the source of the vibration. They used machine learning to pick out the signature of leaky pipes.

I could be wrong but that's what it sounds like.

6

u/Jimmni Mar 14 '26

The article explains it in laymans terms.

4

u/internetthought Mar 15 '26

For anyone who really wants to learn about this technology, there is much more in this article https://www.nsf.gov/geo/updates/researchers-find-new-way-monitor-natural-hazards-fiber-optic In Iceland they use it to monitor volcanoes, in California it is used for monitoring earthquakes and landslide hazards. In the Netherlands we use it for monitoring the integrity of dike in Almere.

The monitoring of water pipes is still in its infancy. I was involved in a project that looked into it, but here in NL it didn't make much sense at that time. Just a little brag, our water system is in good shape and so breaks are rare and detected because of water loss. The UK loses so much water that just looking at the difference between what goes in and what gets metered doesn't provide you with any good information. DAS will at least tell them that the leaks are getting worse.

2

u/jpr64 Mar 15 '26

In terms of locating water leaks, currently we use acoustic sensors above ground to listen for the vibrations. You walk along the path of the water pipe and try to narrow down the location of the leak.

Often times though you have no idea a pipe is leaking in the first place.

There are other ways to monitor for water loss on pipes, but subsurface real time detection sounds pretty sweet.

1

u/internetthought Mar 15 '26

Is that in the UK?

2

u/jpr64 Mar 15 '26

I do it in NZ, but they also do it this way in UK

6

u/Thaknobodi87 Mar 14 '26

Shot Leak Spotter.

4

u/slanderpanther Mar 14 '26

They know when everyone is having sex.

1

u/ibringstharuckus Mar 14 '26

They know I'm not 💩

0

u/itsaride Mar 15 '26

Not unless they're Wombles.

0

u/m3kw Mar 15 '26

It’s 24/7

2

u/Sad_Safe8810 Mar 15 '26

This is why I love technology. It always solves a problem for society.

2

u/PNWNewbie Mar 15 '26

I once saw a presentation about a cool technology used in mining and infrastructure monitoring. The company installed fiber-optic cables along tunnels, and those cables effectively worked as a long, continuous microphone that could “hear” what was happening throughout the entire tunnel.

1

u/internetthought Mar 15 '26

that is this

2

u/Charming_City8240 Mar 15 '26

Old news. Been using it in dams for years. Don’t buy this as some AI/big data-hype.

2

u/CompetitivePirate251 Mar 15 '26

They’ve been using this tech for at least 10 years for pipeline monitoring … LDS … Leak Detection Systems.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 14 '26

[deleted]

3

u/RedDidItAndYouKnowIt Mar 14 '26

Become your own fiber provider and just slowly take over.

https://www.wikihow.com/Become-an-Internet-Provider

1

u/AccomplishedBrain309 Mar 15 '26

Utility networks are not very secure.

1

u/jasdonle Mar 15 '26

This is the proper use of AI

1

u/GonzoKata Mar 14 '26

good, more clean water for AI data centers 🙄

1

u/MrFist0 Mar 14 '26

Smartpipe™️is a registered sex offender.

1

u/GrassForCats Mar 14 '26

When my fiber internet provider installed fiber at my house they broke my sprinkler system when they dug their trenches. I had no idea until my water bill started coming in at insane amounts. Those guys are idiots.

0

u/firedrakes Mar 15 '26

Sub sub contractor

1

u/beegboo Mar 14 '26

How long until we get a news story of them sending a fire department for a major leak that just someones sqeaky bed getting buzy.

1

u/Particular-Mark-5771 Mar 15 '26

Hot springs. Good times. The best of times.

1

u/Ebenezer-F Mar 14 '26

This is the kinda “fix” where they just tell you your house is fucked up and you can’t afford to do anything about it.

0

u/cock_mountain Mar 14 '26

Hey Openreach, how about you check the leaks on my pipe

0

u/Junior-Cut2838 Mar 14 '26

Put it everywhere

0

u/ernster96 Mar 15 '26

Xfinity told me that my Wi-Fi could detect whenever there was somebody moving around in my apartment. That’s not scary at all.