The ECSTATIC project, coordinated by Aston University in the UK and funded with €5.1 million, is testing this innovative approach in a major British city, using a busy railway viaduct as its first real-world testing site. The aim is to detect subtle structural changes, stresses, and vibrations in real time using laser pulses sent through fiber optic cables already installed directly beneath our feet.
“Our goal is to create a global nervous system for critical infrastructure,” says Professor David Webb, coordinator of the ECSTATIC project. “We hope to transform existing fiber optic cables into a 24/7 early warning system that detects even the slightest vibrations or stress fractures before they become catastrophes. If successful, it will mean the difference between repairing a fault and cleaning up a tragedy.”.
Using light to detect problems
Installing physical sensors across all transport and energy networks would cost billions and cause major disruptions. But the ECSTATIC project is taking a different approach: it uses existing infrastructure.
At the project's first demonstration site—a major Victorian-era railway viaduct that carries tens of thousands of trains annually—researchers will send ultra-precise laser pulses through buried fiber-optic cables. As trains pass overhead, the fibers flex and vibrate subtly. These movements change the behavior of light within the cable, altering its phase and polarization, creating a kind of optical fingerprint of the forces acting on the structure.
By measuring these changes and interpreting them with a new dual-microcomb photonic chip (a smart way to send and measure many light frequencies simultaneously) and advanced AI signal processing, ECSTATIC aims to detect the first signs of damage or fatigue. Most importantly, it all works without disrupting internet traffic and without laying a single new cable.
"Cracks in bridges, viaducts, or tunnels don't announce themselves; structures deteriorate gradually and silently, and the first signs of failure remain invisible until it's too late. The UK and many places in Europe have hundreds of aging railway bridges, over which millions of vehicles pass each year. Many of the UK's bridges date back to Victorian times, which could be a ticking time bomb if we don't take decisive action to monitor them now.".
Prevent the next tragedy
The urgent need for early warning systems is evident in the recent bridge collapses across Europe, which have claimed lives and paralyzed cities. In Italy, the 2018 Morandi Bridge disaster in Genoa killed 43 people when a 200-meter section of highway collapsed, despite years of internal warnings about the structural risk. Last year in Germany, the Carolabrücke in Dresden, a vital thoroughfare for the city, partially collapsed without warning. The incident severed essential utility lines, leaving parts of the city without hot water for several hours and causing severe transportation disruptions.
These events, although infrequent, reveal how vulnerable infrastructure can become when old structures are not inspected, and how devastating the consequences can be.
ECSTATIC aims to help authorities act before warning signs turn into disasters by providing them with better data, earlier and without the need to install new, expensive or disruptive sensor systems.
Enlargement in Europe and beyond
With over five billion kilometers of fiber optic cable already installed worldwide (in cities, oceans, and remote terrain), the potential of ECSTATIC technology is enormous. If trials in the UK are successful, the approach could be extended to Europe's transport and energy networks, enabling safer and smarter infrastructure monitoring at a fraction of the cost of traditional systems.
The ECSTATIC project will run until July 2028 and is coordinated by Aston University in the UK. It brings together 13 partners from across Europe, including leading universities such as Padua, L'Aquila, Chalmers, Alcalá, and West Attica, along with industry companies like Telecom Italia Sparkle, OTE Group, Nokia, Network Rail, MODUS, and the Swiss SME Enlightra SARL, as well as the Greek seismology specialists NOA.
