Distributed Control Software for the Active Surface System of Tian-ma Radio Telescope

The Tian-ma Radio Telescope (TMRT) applies an Active Surface System (ASFS), which corrects for large-scale deformations due to gravity and thermal on the primary reflector. The centralized and automated management of the ASFS using software has become a challenge, for which we have developed the TMRT Active Surface System Control Software (TASCS). This paper describes the design and implementation of TASCS for device control, status monitoring, human-computer interaction, and data management functionalities. TASCS adopts the open-source Tango Controls framework and distributes middleware technology to realize real-time automated adjustment of the primary reflector through remote centralized control of a large number of actuators. At present, it has been successfully deployed on the TMRT and has played an important role in Event Horizon Telescope observations.

Automated summary

This paper describes the design and implementation of the TMRT Active Surface System Control Software (TASCS), which enables real-time automated adjustment of the primary reflector through remote centralized control. TASCS has been successfully deployed on the TMRT and played a crucial role in Event Horizon Telescope observations.