Cable Fiber Robot

Project Background

Facebook is currently developing a robot to wrap fiber-optic cable around power lines. The goal of this project is to lower the costs of deploying reliable and fast internet to underprivileged communities, particularly those in regions like Africa. Although fiber-optic cables are the most effective way to provide high-speed internet over long distances, the manual process of deploying them can be both hazardous and time-consuming.

Typically, overland fiber-optic deployments make use of existing power pole infrastructure. Fiber-optic cables are wrapped around either an existing power cable or a cable specially placed for structural support. The time-consuming manual wrapping process is a significant barrier to high-speed internet deployment.

By automating the fiber-optic cable wrapping process, Facebook’s cable fiber robot aims to make fiber-optic deployment faster, safer, and more affordable. This can facilitate the distribution of fast internet worldwide, thereby bridging the digital divide.

My Role

As a subcontractor for the cable fiber robot project, I was responsible for making the robot balance during obstacle crossings. The robot has two distinct modes, which are explained at the 2:26 mark in the introduction video above. In normal mode, the robot wraps its fiber-optic cable payload around power lines. In the second mode, the robot balances its payload above the cable to travel over obstacles. The robot encounters two types of obstacles during its operation: insulators located atop power poles, and bird diverters placed along the span. The video below shows the robot crossing an insulator.