Introduction to REMOTES:Reliable Modular Telescope Solution

Michal Jakubec et al.AI AS Czech Republic

CTU FEE Prague1

Agenda

• Motivation & Objectives• Module Architecture• Software Support• D50 Control Solution• Future Evolution

2

Motivation of D50 Rework (AS-IS)

• Slow telescope drives( 0.8 deg/s)

• No automatic failover processes

• Operation completely based on PC control

• No direct telescope position feedback

3

Objectives of D50 Rework (TO-BE)

• More powerful servo units( 20 deg/s)

• Absolute position sensors on both axes ( 2.3 arcmin)

• Incremental sensors with interpolation ( 1 arcsec)

• Automatic failover mechanisms (telescope parking, closing of roof)

4

It proves to be a really difficult challenge!

Module as a Heart of Solution

• Robust metal housingfor better durability and EMC

• Peripheral board (optional)

• Main board (mandatory)• Sockets, connectors

and cabling

5

Main Board of the Module

• Based on ATxmeta256A3 microcontroller(256 KB Flash, 16KB RAM)

• Two 10 Mb/s Ethernet ports with PoE

• Two RS-232/422 serial ports

• 24 inputs/output for general use (GPIO)

• JTAG for debugging

6

Ethernet 1Ethernet 2

Serial 1Serial 2

JTAG

GPIO

GPIO

Designed for Reliability

• Redundant Ethernet ports

• Redundant power inlets (PoE)

• Microcontroller battery backup

• Continuous voltage monitoring

• Power outage detection

7

Ready for Maintenance• Small command set valid

for all modules• Discoverable register set unique

for each module• Complex commands

as user-defined macros

• Commands independent on the type of comm. line

• Universal management and diagnostic application

8

Register Name Value

CurrentPosition 12340

TargetPosition 12340

Command Empty

State Idle

:> MOVE 12450

MOVE @0: SET TargetPosition = @0 SET Command = Slew WAITFOR State = Idle ASSERT CurrentPosition = Target PositionEND

Universal Management Application

9

D50 Telescope Control Solution

• Communication over redundant network

• Directed by RTS2 control system over serial line

• Mounting drives control(hour angle, declination)

• Site peripherals control (e.g. roof open/close, weather detection)

10

Members of the ProjectNamee Role Main interest

Jan Štrobl Observation Supervisor Specification of key requirements

Michal Jakubec Solution Architect Overall design strategy of the project

Petr Skala Solution Developer Design of position control moduleRendering of 3-D visualisation

Milan Sedláček Solution Developer Design of site control module

Martin Nekola Solution Developer Development of firmware routines

Martin Blažek Main Observer Validation of key requirements

René Hudec Project Stakeholder Operational and financial supervision

11

Future Evolution

• Direct integration with imaging equipment(control of cameras, focusers, filter wheels)

• Fowerful graphical software suite for complete observation control and monitoring

• Support of TCP/IP protocol family• Physical network based on Fast Ethernet

(100 Mb/s)• Choice of more powerful MCU platforms

(ATxmegaA1, ARM, etc.)12

Conclusion

• Motivation & Objectives• Module Architecture• Software Support• D50 Control Solution• Future Evolution

13

Questions?