A remote parameter sensing system is provide that includes a gel sensor, a light source, a detector and a controller 140. One aspect of certain embodiments includes predicting resource utilization for each device without installing customized software, firmware or hardware on the device. A multimode fiber can be used, which can have a controllable amount of bend or coil, such that rays entering the fiber at larger angles of incidence are attenuated more than rays entering at shallow angles of incidence.