nir-vana innovation network

Laying the semi-rigid optical fibers underground is not easy. On construction sites the teams need a lot of patience and concentration. With the pulling the cables done by hand, the amount of physical effort is significant, workers are prone to tendonitis. Existing equipment does not allow pulling optical fibers due to the minimum bend radius accepted by the cables. This is why the French company has developed a solution that addresses these issues. An innovative trailer with a 600mm unwinder to pull the cable by respecting the radius of curvature of most optical fibers. This makes it possible to benefit from the mechanical efficiency of the trailer while preserving the integrity of the cable. The solution allows teams to deploy fiber much faster on construction sites, which reduces the time spent on the side of the road. The French company offers this eco-designed machine to pull mechanically the optical fiber with an electrical assistance. The activation by a pedal of the drum rotation helps operator to reduce the difficulty and allows the unrolling by another operator. This greatly reduces the effort needed to pull cable. The solar panel increases the autonomy of the machine to 8 hours without interruption and reduces the environmental impact with the solar energy source. Moreover, all the needed equipment to use the system is stored inside the compartment. Also, it is featured with an exterior lighting which allows operators to work at night. This new trailer offers gains in particular in terms of: -Speed: machine pulling is faster than manual techniques. Save time on pulling, winding and marking -Safety: with a more precise traction, this machine avoids the significant risk of injury or damage, and it limits the clutter on the site -Efficiency: the machine limits carrying of loads, risks of crushing and painful postures during the manual traction phase. The risk of muscle and joint damage to operators is thus eliminated. The trailer does not require any specific driving license to be transported nor any training courses to be used. No more needs for 3 or 4 operators to pull the cable, the team can concentrate on positioning the optical fiber underground. The operators are satisfied with the new coordination of work, while telecom operator company can record significant productivity gains. Telecom operations subcontractors that deploy underground fiber optics are being sought for commercial agreements with technical assistance.