A Heterogeneous Telescope NetworkAlasdair Allan
Tim Naylor
Eric SaundersUniversity of Exeter
Iain Steele
Chris MottramLiverpool John Moores University
Tim Jenness
Frossie Economou
Brad Cavanagh
Andy AdamsonJoint Astronomy Centre, Hawaii
NAM Birmingham 2005
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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
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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
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How far we’ve 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)
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eSTAR and UKIRT
• All aspects of an observation programme at the JAC are either software readable or software controllable
• To the agent its irrelevant that’s there is a human in the loop
• Agents now being deployed to carry out GRB follow-up
© Nik Szymanek
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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
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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]
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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
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The eSTAR network
© Nik Szymanek
UKIRT @ JAC
User Agents
The Grid
Embedded Agent
Robonet-1.0
Embedded Agent
OGLE Alert
Alert Agent
GCN Alert
Alert Agent
Alert Agent
WFCAM
The VO
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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?)
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The eSTAR meta-network
User Agents
The GridBrokerService
ProprietaryTelescope Network
Ale
rts
Alert Agent
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A Grid Market
User Agents
The Grid Grid Market
BrokerService
ProprietaryTelescope Network
BrokerService
ProprietaryTelescope Network
The VirtualObservatory
BrokerService
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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/ )
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Other agent based projects
• The Thinking Telescope System (Los Alamos) www.thinkingtelescopes.lanl.gov
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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
Science Goal Monitor
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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 I’ve 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
