Creating an Adaptive Optics Control Interface
Lisa Rightmire
W.M. Keck Observatory
Project Supervisor: Marcos van Dam
Home Institutions: University of Hawai’i at Hilo and the University of Memphis
MAORI is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) used by the telescope operator to monitor
and control the Adaptive Optics (AO) systems at the W.M. Keck Observatory. Prior to
MAORI, there were several GUIs used simultaneously to control each of subsystems of
the Keck AO systems. The goal of this project was to use the Python programming
language to create a GUI that would allow the user to view and control the status of
each subsystem. The GUI includes the following features: a very compact design; logic
to configure the GUI based on what telescope and instruments are in use; the ability to
bring up other tools as needed. MAORI was made compact by including a tabbed
interface allowing the operator to easily switch between displays. The Keck telescope
operators tested MAORI before it officially went online at the end of July of 2006.
Scheduled to be used by the Keck observatory for the next five to ten years, MAORI will
provide the telescope operator with clear and concise information while taking up as
little of the screen as possible.