DiSQ: a software solution to facilitate the verification of the SKA-Mid dish structures

Oliver Skivington; Thomas Juerges; Ulrik Pedersen; Jarrett Engelbrecht

doi:10.1117/12.3019882

11 September 2024 DiSQ: a software solution to facilitate the verification of the SKA-Mid dish structures

Oliver Skivington, Thomas Juerges, Ulrik Pedersen, Jarrett Engelbrecht

Proceedings Volume 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X; 130943P (2024) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019882
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2024, Yokohama, Japan

Conference Poster

Abstract

Under construction in the Karoo desert is the first of 133 radio telescope dishes that will join the existing 64 from MeerKAT to make up the mid-frequency half of the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO). Erecting the dish is merely the first stage of a long and rigorous process this and the following 132 antennas must undergo before they are able to produce reliable scientific data. The next step is verification and validation (V&V) where mechanical engineers from the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) will work under complex conditions performing V&V activities. As part of these activities data must be read from, and commands sent to, the dish structure controller; a programmable logic controller (PLC) based control system exposed via an Open Platform Communications Unified Architecture (OPC-UA) server interface. In comes the Dish Structure Qualification software (DiSQ), a collection of tools designed to expose the OPC-UA server in an intuitive, user-friendly manner via a Python API and an engineering GUI to facilitate and expedite the V&V.

(2024) Published by SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Citation Download Citation

Oliver Skivington, Thomas Juerges, Ulrik Pedersen, and Jarrett Engelbrecht "DiSQ: a software solution to facilitate the verification of the SKA-Mid dish structures", Proc. SPIE 13094, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes X, 130943P (11 September 2024); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3019882

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