When the project was approved in 2006 the design of the prototype site at Tenerife could begin. ASTELCO systems was hired to build the telescope and the IAC would construct the foundation and make sure that the infrastructure was in place. In Denmark the main task was to assembly the spectrograph and other smaller components and last but not least develop the necessary software. The customized software to control all units and devices together with the sophisticated network design is the one part of the project which has required the most time in man-hours.
With a robotic telescope placed in a different part of the world it is important to be able to follow what happens at the site. To do this we have set up a number of web cameras inside the container and dome and outside at different angles. This makes us able to watch the telescope when the Sun is up. We are able to turn on lamps at night if necessary.
When observations are ongoing it is also relevant to follow if things goes smoothly and data is collected in the right way. To follow this process we have set up a database which transports all relevant information to a central server on which we have set up a web application. With a number of web pages we are able to see the current status of the observations, weather and other technical info which are relevant for the users.
These web pages can be found here:
