Design of telescope and instrument control and interface software at the South African Astronomical Observatory: building blocks of the intelligent observatory

Carel H. D. R. van Gend; Amanda A. Sickafoose; Stephen B. Potter; Briehan Lombaard; Pieter Swanevelder; Hitesh Gajjar; Hannah L. Worters; Willie Koorts; Keegan Titus; Craig Sass; Egan Loubser; Nicolas Erasmus; James E. O'Connor; Ramotholo Sefako; Roufurd Julie; Freya Bovim

doi:10.1117/12.2562161

13 December 2020 Design of telescope and instrument control and interface software at the South African Astronomical Observatory: building blocks of the intelligent observatory

Carel H. D. R. van Gend, Amanda A. Sickafoose, Stephen B. Potter, Briehan Lombaard, Pieter Swanevelder, Hitesh Gajjar, Hannah L. Worters, Willie Koorts, Keegan Titus, Craig Sass, Egan Loubser, Nicolas Erasmus, James E. O'Connor, Ramotholo Sefako, Roufurd Julie, Freya Bovim

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 11452, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy VI; 1145206 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562161
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2020, Online Only

Abstract

We present an overview of the Intelligent Observatory (IO) and the architecture used at the South African Astronomical Observatory (SAAO) to develop instrument and telescope control and monitoring software. The IO aims to link and coordinate the usage of the SAAO telescopes and instruments for optimal efficiency. This will entail a Central Control System (CCS) selecting appropriate instruments and telescopes and controlling observations on these. This requires interoperable instrument and telescope control software. The SAAO software architecture is flexible, allows multiple user interfaces, and supports remote control and monitoring of both telescope and instrument through a web browser. Furthermore, the architecture allows an external agent (such as the IO CCS) simultaneous control of both instruments and telescopes.

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Carel H. D. R. van Gend, Amanda A. Sickafoose, Stephen B. Potter, Briehan Lombaard, Pieter Swanevelder, Hitesh Gajjar, Hannah L. Worters, Willie Koorts, Keegan Titus, Craig Sass, Egan Loubser, Nicolas Erasmus, James E. O'Connor, Ramotholo Sefako, Roufurd Julie, and Freya Bovim "Design of telescope and instrument control and interface software at the South African Astronomical Observatory: building blocks of the intelligent observatory", Proc. SPIE 11452, Software and Cyberinfrastructure for Astronomy VI, 1145206 (13 December 2020); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2562161

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