JCMT observatory control system

Nicholas P. Rees; Frossie Economou; Tim Jenness; Russell D. Kackley; Craig A. Walther; William R. F. Dent; Martin Folger; Xiaofeng Gao; Dennis Kelly; John F. Lightfoot; Ian Pain; Gary J. Hovey; Russell O. Redman

doi:10.1117/12.461306

13 December 2002 JCMT observatory control system

Nicholas P. Rees, Frossie Economou, Tim Jenness, Russell D. Kackley, Craig A. Walther, William R. F. Dent, Martin Folger, Xiaofeng Gao, Dennis Kelly, John F. Lightfoot, Ian Pain, Gary J. Hovey, Russell O. Redman

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II; (2002) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461306
Event: Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation, 2002, Waikoloa, Hawai'i, United States

Abstract

The JCMT, the world's largest sub-mm telescope, has had essentially the same VAX/VMS based control system since it was commissioned. For the next generation of instrumentation we are implementing a new Unix/VxWorks based system, based on the successful ORAC system that was recently released on UKIRT. The system is now entering the integration and testing phase. This paper gives a broad overview of the system architecture and includes some discussion on the choices made. (Other papers in this conference cover some areas in more detail). The basic philosophy is to control the sub-systems with a small and simple set of commands, but passing detailed XML configuration descriptions along with the commands to give the flexibility required. The XML files can be passed between various layers in the system without interpretation, and so simplify the design enormously. This has all been made possible by the adoption of an Observation Preparation Tool, which essentially serves as an intelligent XML editor.

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Nicholas P. Rees, Frossie Economou, Tim Jenness, Russell D. Kackley, Craig A. Walther, William R. F. Dent, Martin Folger, Xiaofeng Gao, Dennis Kelly, John F. Lightfoot, Ian Pain, Gary J. Hovey, and Russell O. Redman "JCMT observatory control system", Proc. SPIE 4848, Advanced Telescope and Instrumentation Control Software II, (13 December 2002); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.461306

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