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The talk will describe the details into the design and development of a low-cost yet efficient Telescope Control System (TCS) and Observatory Control Software (OCS) for the 50cm telescope at the Indian Astronomical Observatory, Hanle.
The TCS employs a Programmable System-on-Chip (PSoC) based motion controller with a distributed control architecture on the CAN bus, allowing modular and scalable subsystem control. The closed-loop PID control with motion profiler deliver high precision, achieving a controller level pointing accuracy of 3 arcseconds. High-level software for astronomical computations, including topocentric and geocentric corrections and an automated pointing model derived via image-based plate solving, are executed on a dedicated control computer, while low-level routines run in the PSoC firmware. The overall system enables precise pointing of 30" all-sky RMS error and an unguided sidereal tracking accuracy of 2 arcseconds over 10 minutes—performance, while managing peripheral subsystems such as the secondary focuser, filter wheel, weather monitoring, and safety interlocks—forming a complete framework for robotic operation.
The OCS integrates the TCS with the detector, enclosure, filter wheel, and weather station, implementing safety interlocks and a scheduler based robotic operation within a client–server architecture.
The talk will also highlight the current scientific and engineering status of the telescope and the ongoing development of an auto-guiding system aimed at achieving sub-arcsecond closed-loop tracking for long-exposure imaging.