Prospects for a Global Heterogeneous Telescope Network HTN

1
Prospects for a Global Heterogeneous Telescope
Network (HTN)

• Frederic V. Rick Hessman
• Georg-August-Universität Göttingen

2
Now is the Time

• Scientific need
• Service-mode observations becoming standard at
  many observatories
• Large number of increasingly functional robotic
  telescopes
• Virtual Observatory applications/links

3
Purpose of a HTN

• Sharing disparate resources
• e.g. location, aperture, instruments,
  availability
• Coherent scientific projects requiring extended
  time-/wavelength-/latitude-coverage
• Better use of resources
• Educational/Public outreach applications

4
Structure of a HTN
CLIENTS
BROKERS
PROVIDERS
observation descriptions
Info, accounting
data
5
Observation Descriptions

• Client ? Broker
• Generic description of observations à la Phase
  III
• S/N, time, FOV, phase, weather, sky, ...
  constraints
• Local object and project priorities
• Broker ? Provider
• Generic or specific description of observations
• Constraints
• Global priorities
• Provider ? Broker
• Requests for hole-fillers

6
Info, Accounting, Data

• Broker ? Client
• Reporting available global resources
• Status of requests
• Data
• Accounting
• Provider ? Broker
• Reporting available local resources
• Status of requests
• Data
• Accounting
• Availability / Negotiations

7
Constraints on a HTN

• Client
• Simple access
• Reliable performance
• Prompt communication
• Quality assurance
• Provider
• Security / control
• Short- vs. Long-term commitments
• Integration into local/global systems
• Broker
• Accounting
• Dynamic resource management
• Long-term project management

8
Serving Clients

• Classic portal solutions
• Standard eBusiness model/techniques
• Familiar paradigm
• Intelligent Agents
• Quality assurance
• Access to pipelines
• Is virtual really good enough?

9
Being a Provider

• Security / Control
• Integration into Scheduler
• Hole fillers
• Long-term scheduling
• Registration / broadcasting of allowed
  constraints
• Instrumentation
• Registration / broadcasting of current resources
• Detecting/Dealing with Conflicts of Interest

10
Functions of Brokers

• Registration of clients and providers
• Project management
• Accounting
• Data quality control
• Value-added service
• Commercialization?

11
Practical Issues

• Most of us are here as potential clients and
  providers - where are the Brokers?
• Broker role models?
• Bradford, Univ. Iowa IRTF, Telescopes In
  Education
• Harvards MicroObservatory, HOU,
  LiverpoolFaulkes
• eSTAR
• RAPTOR
• ACP community
• RoboSky, TENAGRA
• ...

12
The MONET Model

• History
• Partners Univ. of Texas at Austin SAAO
• Funding by Krupp Foundation
• First operation 2005/6
• McDonald Obs./TX, Sutherland/SA
• Scientific, Student School Clientele
• Hardware/Software
• Administration/Accounting Model

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Teleskoptechnik Halfmann 1.2m
Unique clam-shell enclosures
14
MONET User- Project-Management

• Users register themselves but have no access of
  their own
• Observing time given to Projects with a project
  administrator assigned and a filled
  bank-account of observing time
• Projects can be sub-divided by the project
  administrators themselves
• Users attached ( removed) from Projects by
  project administrators
• Support tools to permit project administrators to
  function as autonomously as possible

15
Difficult HTN Issues

• Centralized vs. Free Market?
• What is the currency?
• What do Providers charge?
• Timescale for billing?
• What are the interfaces?
• How to handle accounting?
• Are Brokers HTN banks?
• How much support? (people/pipeline/calibration)

16
Accounting Solutions

• Client ? Broker
• Not our topic?
• Broker ? Provider, Broker ? Broker
• Checking account model (deposit, withdrawal,
  overdraw)
• Bargaining conclusive or informal?
• Professional acknowledgement?
• Support?
• Client ? Provider
• Different business models conceivable
• Broker service charges?

17
The Stone Age Model
A2B BROKER
CLIENT
CLIENT
DATA A
DATA B
18
The eBay Model
request
estimates
order
data
19
The Mature HTN Economy
billing
CLIENTS
PROVIDERS
donation
CLIENT INTERFACES
BROKERS
20
What is Needed?

• Interface for resource info collection
• Interface for observation requests
• Accepted Currency
• Pool of trusted Brokers
• Assessing costs observation requests
• Interface for brokerage transactions

21
Interface Solution 1 RTML

• Remote Telescope Markup Language
• XML format
• Invented by S. Gordon (LBL) 1989
• Version 2.1 adopted by open community 2001 (HOU,
  ACP, eSTAR)
• Version 3.X with schema
• target namespace www.rtml.org (3.1)
• Twiki-based schema development environment
• VOEvent
• Content
• Unique document ids
• Phase I,II information
• Scheduling constraints
• Generic and specific descriptions of targets,
  observatories, telescopes, instruments
• Modes
• dump resource description
• request observation request

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What is Needed?

• Interface for resource info collection ?
• Interface for observation requests ?
• Accepted Currency
• Pool of trusted Brokers
• Assessing costs observation requests
• Interface for brokerage transactions

23
Constraints on HTN Currency

• Client ideally fixes
• S/N
• FOV
• Seeing, weather, sky constraints
• Wavelength, spectral resolution, wavelength
  coverage
• Target time/phase constraints
• Data product
• Provider needs compensation for cost of
• Exposure time
• Aperture
• FOV and no. of pixels/resolution elements
• Complex instruments and expensive wavelengths
• Data distribution
• Development and application of data pipelines

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Defining a Currency

• IOUs Image Observation Units?
• e.g. S/N10, texp1 min., D1m, 1 seeing, R5,
  basic calibrations
• Standard scaling?
• e.g. fudge texp seeing-2 FOV2
  aperture2.5
• Provider parameterization?
• Flat rates?
• Mixed forms?
• Real/Virtual Money? (Steele et al., SPIE 2004)
• Tie to real construction/operation/support costs

25
What is Needed?

• Interface for resource info collection ?
• Interface for observation requests ?
• Accepted Currency ?
• Pool of trusted Brokers ?
• Assessing costs observation requests
• Interface for brokerage transactions

26
Interface Solutions 2 3

• Cost assessment
• RTML ? Simulator ? Cost
• Brokerage Transactions
• Client ? Agent initial request
• ltRTML uid? moderequest ...gt
• Agent ? Provider request for cost estimate
• ltRTML uidmonet//docs1234 modeinquiry
  ...gt
• Provider ? Agent report of cost estimate
• ltCost uidraptor//stuffabcd modeoffer
  urefmonet//docs1234 value3.14
  timestamp2006-02-14T234534
  expires2006-02-15T123456/gt
• Agent ? Provider order based on cost estimate
• ltRTML uidmonet//docs1234 moderequest
  ...gt...
• lthtmCost urefraptor//stuffabcd
  value3.14/gt

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What is Needed?

• Interface for resource info collection ?
• Interface for observation requests ?
• Accepted Currency ?
• Pool of trusted Brokers ?
• Assessing costs observation requests ?
• Interface for brokerage transactions ?

28
Summary

• There is an obvious need for HTM
• Several working initial business models are
  conceivable
• Modified RTML a simple additional transaction
  interface is all that is needed at first
• Need lots of discussion at meeting
• Need potential Providers
• Need Brokers