A Heterogeneous Telescope Network

1
A Heterogeneous Telescope Network

• Alasdair Allan
• Tim Naylor
• Eric Saunders
• University of Exeter
• Iain Steele
• Chris Mottram
• Liverpool John Moores University
• Tim Jenness
• Frossie Economou
• Brad Cavanagh
• Andy Adamson
• Joint Astronomy Centre, Hawaii

2
The eSTAR concept

• Three fundamental ideas behind the project which
  makes it unique
• Treat telescopes and databases in a similar
  manner, both being made available on the
  Observational Grid
• The main user of the Grid and the Virtual
  Observatories should not be humans, but
  autonomous intelligent software agents
• These software agents are reactive, examining the
  results of observations, and then scheduling
  follow up observations based on their analysis of
  the existing data

3
What is an agent anyway?

• An agent is just software not magic
• Loosely, an agent is a computational entity
  which
• Acts on behalf of another entity in an autonomous
  fashion
• Performs its actions with some level of
  proactivity and/or responsiveness
• Exhibits some level of the key attributes of
  learning, co-operation and mobility

4
How far weve come

• First talked about eSTAR at NAM in
• 2002, since then
• Established small prototype network using off
  the shelf telescopes
• Deployed the system onto UKIRT in Hawaii for GRB
  follow up
• Research into grid markets and agent technologies
• Research into Adaptive Dataset Planning (ADP)

5
eSTAR and UKIRT

• All aspects of an observation programme at the
  JAC are either software readable or software
  controllable
• To the agent its irrelevant thats there is a
  human in the loop
• Agents now being deployed to carry out GRB
  follow-up

6
eSTAR and ADP

• Traditional variable star observing is strongly
  time constrained
• Aliasing problems dominate, inefficient and
  expensive
• Adaptive dataset planning is about,
• Finding the ideal observing pattern for a given
  period range
• and if we have an existing dataset, deciding
  when we should best observe

7
The short term plan

• We have an exciting time ahead
• Deploy eSTAR onto Robonet-1.0 to allow it to
  carry out observations using adaptive dataset
  planning and do micro-lensing work this summer
  MAY
• Finish work on the WFCAM/eSTAR Transient Object
  Detection Agent in collaboration with the JAC
  JULY

8
eSTAR and Robonet-1.0

• Searching for extra-Solar planets using
  gravitational microlensing in the galactic bulge
• Real time GRB follow-up using the same agent
  software as UKIRT
• Consortium open time, a testbed for our
  adaptive dataset planning work

9
The eSTAR network
The VO
The Grid
Embedded Agent
User Agents
10
In the longer term

• Adding more telescopes, means the network becomes
  heterogeneous. Does that mean more complexity?
• What about the existing proprietary networks?
• Need to establish interoperability between the
  existing networks. Standards based, using RTML
  (and VOEvent for notification?)

11
The eSTAR meta-network
The Grid
User Agents
12
A Grid Market
The Grid
User Agents
13
Other telescope networks

• eSTAR
• JAC Hawaii ( www.jach.hawaii.edu )
• Robonet-1.0 ( www.astro.livjm.ac.uk/RoboNet/ )
• Collaborators
• RAPTOR ( www.raptor.lanl.gov )
• SGM SMARTS ( aaaprod.gsfc.nasa.gov/SGM/ )
• MONET ( www.uni-sw.gwdg.de/hessman/MONET/ )
• SuperWASP ( www.superwasp.org )
• Others
• REX ( star-www.st-and.ac.uk/kdh1/rex/rex.html )
• ASTRA ( citadel.edu/physics/astra/ )
• STELLA ( www.aip.de/stella/ )

14
Other agent based projects

• The Thinking Telescope System (Los Alamos)
  www.thinkingtelescopes.lanl.gov

15
The HTN WorkshopJuly 18 -21 2005

• Aims
• Interoperability between robotic telescope
  networks
• Interoperability with the Virtual Observatory
  (VO) for event notification
• Establishment of an e-market for the exchange of
  telescope time
• See htn-workshop2005.ex.ac.uk

16
Summary

• One way to hide differences is by adding
  brokering layers to a system, this works just as
  well for the VO as it does for the telescope
  networks Ive described.
• The addition of a Grid Market allows
  heterogeneous proprietary resources to be
  bartered
• For more information about the eSTAR Project see
  our website www.estar.org.uk
• For more information about the upcoming HTN
  Workshop in Exeter this July see the conference
  website htn-workshop2005.ex.ac.uk