Efficiency evaluation of proposed EAGLE target acquisition systems

William D. Taylor; Chris J Evans; Hermine Schnetler

doi:10.1117/12.787777

11 July 2008 Efficiency evaluation of proposed EAGLE target acquisition systems

William D. Taylor, Chris J Evans, Hermine Schnetler

Proceedings Volume 7017, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy III; 701706 (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.787777
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

Efficient assignment of science targets to the individual channels of a multi-object astronomical instrument, such as EAGLE for the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT), is crucial for maximising the utility of the instrument. This paper presents the results obtained by modelling the efficiencies of various pick-off system concepts: free standing Pick-Off Mirrors (POMs), POMs at the tip of moving arms, or a tiled focal plane. Consideration is also taken of the way in which the freestanding POMs are placed: by a pick and place robot, or a swarm of micro autonomous robots. Allocation algorithms were developed for each concept and applied to target fields which are representative of EAGLE's likely science cases. It is shown how the results of the modelling were used to generate a new system comparison criterion called Allocation Flexibility and how this influences the choice of the baseline solution. The allocation flexibility suggests that the best system will use free standing POMs with as small a footprint as possible, which reflect light to a raised beam steering mirror.

Citation Download Citation

William D. Taylor, Chris J Evans, and Hermine Schnetler "Efficiency evaluation of proposed EAGLE target acquisition systems", Proc. SPIE 7017, Modeling, Systems Engineering, and Project Management for Astronomy III, 701706 (11 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.787777

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