Ms. Ellie G. O'Brien Profile

Ellie G. O'Brien

at Australian Astronomical Optics Macquarie Univ

SPIE Involvement:

Author

Publications (16)

Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

Vacuum adhesion of Starbug fibre optic positioning robots in high-altitude ground-based astronomy instrumentation

Ellie O'Brien, Jon Lawrence, Celestina Lacombe, Michael Thomakos, Michael Goodwin, James Gilbert, Slavko Mali, Rolf Muller, Nirmala Kunwar, Jahanzeb Zahoor, Lew Waller, Tony Farrell

Proceedings Volume 12182, 1218237 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629158

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Green fluorescent protein, Observatories, Robots, Fiber optics, Ferroelectric materials, Astronomy, Stellar astronomy, Liquid crystal on silicon, Glasses

Read Abstract +

Starbugs are self-motile fibre optic positioning robots developed by AAO-MQ. MANIFEST (MANy Instrument FibrE SysTem) is a facility class Instrument which will operate up to 900 Starbugs on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The FOBOS (Fibre-Optic Broadband Optical Spectrograph) Fibre Positioner is a facility class Instrument which will operate up to 1800 Starbugs on the Keck Telescope. Starbugs deliver an optical payload to the location of an astronomical object on the telescope focal plane. The Starbugs are made from a pair of concentric Piezoceramic Tubes (PZT), and a high-voltage waveform is applied to the PZT to create an actuation. Staging of the waveform creates successive microsteps, on the order of 3-20 μm each, at a driven frequency of 100Hz. The Starbugs are adhered to the Glass Field Plate (GFP) using an ancillary vacuum system, which must provide sufficient adhesion force to maintain the Starbug GFP position in the high-altitude environmental conditions at Mauna Kea (MKO) and Las Campanas Observatory (LCO) sites. The minimum vacuum adhesion requirements to achieve Starbug GFP position were used to specify the vacuum pump flow rate and operational head pressure. The vacuum adhesion requirements were experimentally obtained using the Starbug Test Stand, located in Sydney, Australia. The Starbugs Test Stand vacuum adhesion requirements were parametised for dry air mass flow rate and head pressure, and then corrected for the 95th percentile environmental conditions at MKO and LCO. The vacuum system numerical model was verified by the TAIPAN instrument. When corrected for ambient atmospheric conditions at the UK Schmidt Telescope (Siding Spring Observatory, Australia), the numerical model could predict the steady state vacuum pump speed with 1.29% variation from the measured vacuum pump speed recorded by the TAIPAN Instrument control software. This capability of the numerical model will be used for real-time condition monitoring of the Starbugs Instruments.

Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

Overall performance of AESOP: the 4MOST fibre positioner

Jurek Brzeski, David Adams, Gabriella Baker, Sufyan Baker, Rebecca Brown, Scott Case, Timothy Chin, Jack Coyne, Tony Farrell, Peter Gillingham, Ellen Houston, Urs Klauser, Yevgen Kripak, Nirmala Kunwar, Jon Lawrence, Slavko Mali, Wojtek Maslak, Helen McGregor, Rolf Muller, Vijay Nichani, Naveen Pai, Ellie O'brien, Will Saunders, Scott Smedley, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Lew Waller, Jahanzeb Zahoor, Jessica Zheng

Proceedings Volume 12184, 121846M (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627900

KEYWORDS: Spine, Actuators, Fiber science, Telescopes, Tolerancing, Metrology, Galactic astronomy, Calibration, Assembly tolerances, Spectrographs

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

Development of the FOBOS focal plane positioner

David Adams, Jon Lawrence, Helen McGregor, Ellie O'Brien, Celestina Lacombe, Nuria Lorente, Michael Goodwin, Rebecca Brown, Michael Thomakos, Tayyaba Zafar, Nick MacDonald, Kyle Westfall, Kevin Bundy, Renate Kupke, Marc Kassis, Claire Poppett

Proceedings Volume 12184, 121846K (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627289

KEYWORDS: Galactic astronomy, Spectrographs, Robots, Spectroscopy, Optical fibers, Glasses, Astronomical imaging, Telescopes

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

TAIPAN starbugs: commissioning and the start of science observations

Rebecca Brown, Tony Farrell, Nuwanthika Fernando, Michael Goodwin, Anthony Horton, Celestina Lacombe, Jon Lawrence, Nuria Lorente, Helen McGregor, Ellie O'Brien, Lewis Waller, Tayyaba Zafar, Jessica Zheng

Proceedings Volume 12184, 121840Y (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629109

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Metrology, Connectors, Optical fibers, Spectrographs, Astronomical spectroscopy, Mechanical positioning systems, Technology

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

AESOP, the 4MOST fibre positioner: engineering principles

Jurek Brzeski, Dave Adams, Gabriella Baker, Sufyan Baker, Rebecca Brown, Scott Case, Timothy Chin, Jack Coyne, Tony Farrell, James Gibson, Peter Gillingham, Ellen Houston, Urs Klauser, Yevgen Kripak, Nirmala Kunwar, Jon Lawrence, Slavko Mali, Wojtek Maslak, Helen McGregor, Rolf Muller, Vijay Nichani, Naveen Pai, Ellie O'brien, Will Saunders, Scott Smedley, Sudharshan Venkatesan, Lew Waller, Jahanzeb Zahoor, Jessica Zheng

Proceedings Volume 12184, 121846N (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2627903

KEYWORDS: Spine, Telescopes, Tolerancing, Assembly tolerances, Interfaces, Metrology, Kinematics, Assembly equipment, Sensors, Manufacturing

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Proceedings Article | 29 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

MANIFEST@GMT science overview: a multi-interface, multi-mode instrument science and simulations

Tayyaba Zafar, Jonathan Lawrence, Jessica Zheng, David Adams, Vitor Hartmann, Celestina Lacombe, Michael Goodwin, Nuria Lorente, Ellie O'Brien, Will Saunders, Helen McGregor, Lew Waller, Nirmala Kunwar, Daniel Faes, Jennifer Marshall, Darren DePoy, Alexandar Ji, Dennis Zaritsky, Casey Papovich, Steven Finkelstein, Andrew Szentgyorgyi, Roderik Overzier, Kyler Kuehn, Luca Cortese, Scott Croom, Sarah Martell, Matthew Colless, Anilkumar Mailvaganam, Andrew Hopkins, Magda Arnaboldi, Céline Péroux, Christian Johnson

Proceedings Volume 12184, 1218417 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628142

KEYWORDS: Galactic astronomy, Spectrographs, Stars, Interfaces, Telescopes, Polarimetry, Kinematics, Radio astronomy, Gamma radiation, Device simulation

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Proceedings Article | 26 August 2022 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

A Starbug's life: a material trade study using fatigue life criteria for high-altitude robotic fibre positioning instruments

Ellie O'Brien, Jon Lawrence, Celestina Lacombe, Michael Thomakos, Michael Goodwin, James Gilbert, Slavko Mali, Rolf Muller, Nirmala Kunwar, Jahanzeb Zahoor, Lew Waller, Tony Farrell

Proceedings Volume 12182, 1218236 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2629152

KEYWORDS: Ferroelectric materials, Green fluorescent protein, Electrodes, Telescopes, Mechanics, Safety, Roads, Observatories, Robots, Robotics

Read Abstract +

Starbugs are self-motile fibre optic positioning robots developed by AAO-MQ. The MANIFEST (MANy Instrument FibrE SysTem) is a facility class Instrument which will operate up to 900 Starbugs on the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT). The FOBOS (Fibre-Optic Broadband Optical Spectrograph) Fibre Positioner is a facility class Instrument which will operate up to 1800 Starbugs on the Keck Telescope. The Starbugs deliver an optical payload to the location of an astronomical object on the telescope focal plane. The Starbugs are made from a pair of concentric Piezoceramic Tubes (PZT), and a high-voltage waveform is applied to the PZT to create an actuation. Staging of the waveform creates successive microsteps, on the order of 3-20 μm each, at a driven frequency of 100Hz. The Starbugs are adhered to the Glass Field Plate (GFP) using an ancillary vacuum system. The Starbugs have an airtight vacuum sealing component between the PZT and the GFP, called Slippers, which serve as a traction surface against the polished GFP. The Slippers set the science fibre focus offset, which has functional requirements that trace to Observatory level requirements. The Slipper components are subject to non-zero centred fully reversed fatigue loading due to the combined load case of the vacuum induced compression and the shear load of the PZT actuation as the Starbug completes the step. The contact interface between the Slipper and the GFP is subject to surface fatigue and functions as a sacrificial wear surface to ensure the longevity of both the PZT and the optical payload. The fatigue life behaviour of the Slipper, with particular interest on this interface, was defined using industry standard methods and informed the trade study to select the appropriate material for the Slippers to survive a nominal period on-sky (fatigue life). The trade study terms were vacuum sealing ability as a function of mechanical hardness versus fatigue life (108 cycles). Several suitable materials were identified and will be physically prototyped, with results reported in this manuscript.

Proceedings Article | 25 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

GMT-MANIFEST project cost estimate case: applying the PMBOK Guide to the costing of instrumentation for ELTs

Celestina Lacombe, Jon Lawrence, Scott Smedley, Rebecca Brown, Ellie O'Brien, Lew Waller, Michael Goodwin, Jessica Zheng, Scott Case, David Adams, Vitor Hartmann

Proceedings Volume 12187, 1218703 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628270

KEYWORDS: Prototyping, Interfaces, Telescopes, Structured optical fibers, Green fluorescent protein, Systems engineering, Glasses, Electronics, Manufacturing, Control systems design

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Proceedings Article | 25 August 2022 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Application of model-based systems engineering to MANIFEST conceptual design

Michael Goodwin, David Adams, Rebecca Brown, Vitor Hartmann, Celestina Lacombe, Carlos H. N. Lahoz, Jon Lawrence, D. May, Ellie O'Brien, Tayyaba Zafar

Proceedings Volume 12187, 1218704 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628849

KEYWORDS: Systems modeling, Systems engineering, Model-based design, Instrument modeling, Functional analysis

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Paper

Paper

Starbugs field-allocation simulations for FOBOS

Michael Goodwin, David Adams, Kevin Bundy, Renate Kupke, Celestina Lacombe, Jon Lawrence, Nuria Lorente, Nick MacDonald, Helen McGregor, Ellie O’Brien, Claire Poppett, Lew Waller, Kyle Westfall, Jessica Zheng

Proceedings Volume 11447, 114477Y (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2560885

KEYWORDS: Device simulation, Telescopes, Spectroscopes, Detection and tracking algorithms, Robotics, Optical fibers, Fiber optics, Spectrographs, Target detection, Sensors

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Poster + Paper

Poster + Paper

Optical interface study of MANIFEST to GMACS and GCLEF instruments

Jessica Zheng, Sagi Ben-Ami, Daniel Faes, Celestina Lacombe, Jon Lawrence, Helen McGregor, Ellie O'Brien, Luke Schmidt, Tayyaba Zafar, Ross Zhelem

Proceedings Volume 11447, 114472Q (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2561896

KEYWORDS: Interfaces, Telescopes, Robotics

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Proceedings Article | 13 December 2020 Paper

Paper

The MANIFEST pre-concept design

J. Lawrence, S. Ben-Ami, A. Braulio, M. Colless, A. Contos, D. DePoy, D. Faes, P. Gillingham, M. Goodwin, E. Houston, K. Kuehn, C. Lacombe, N. Lorente, S. Mali, J. Marshall, H. McGregor, R. Millan-Gabet, V. Nichani, V. Neves Hartmann, E. O'Brien, C. Oliveira, H. Ortolan, P. Pires, R. Ribeiro, W. Saunders, L. Schmidt, A. Souza, A. Szentgyorgyi, L. Waller, T. Zafar, J. Zheng

Proceedings Volume 11447, 1144728 (2020) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2563238

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Spectrographs, Field spectroscopy, Spectral resolution, Prototyping, Optical instrument design, Optical fibers, Glasses, Robots, Galactic astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 10 July 2018 Paper

Paper

Testing a prototype rotary mechanism for GMTIFS

I. Price, J. Hart, E. O'Brien, R. Sharp, G. Gausachs, G. Bloxham, C. Vest, J. Gilbert, B. Espeland

Proceedings Volume 10706, 107063M (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312337

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Content addressable memory, Distance measurement, Prototyping, Autocollimators, Reticles, Temperature metrology, Calibration, Control systems, Cryogenics

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Paper

Paper

Veloce environmental control system

Gaston Gausachs, Robert Boz, Tom Carkic, Michael Ellis, James Gilbert, Nicholas Herrald, Michael Ireland, Ellie O'Brien, Ian Price, Matthew Robertson, Colin Vest

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107026J (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313162

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Control systems, Optical benches, Control systems design

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Veloce Rosso: Australia's new precision radial velocity spectrograph

James Gilbert, Christoph Bergmann, Gabe Bloxham, Robert Boz, Robert Brookfield, Tom Carkic, Brad Carter, Scott Case, Vladimir Churilov, Michael Ellis, Gaston Gausachs, Luke Gers, Doug Gray, Nicholas Herrald, Michael Ireland, Damien Jones, Yevgen Kripak, Jon Lawrence, Ellie O'Brien, Ian Price, Matthew Robertson, Christian Schwab, Chris Tinney, Annino Vaccarella, Colin Vest, Duncan Wright, Ross Zhelem

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107020Y (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2312399

KEYWORDS: Spectrographs, Sensors, Control systems, Calibration, Telescopes, Observatories, Optical benches, Relays, Image processing, Astronomy

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Proceedings Article | 6 July 2018 Presentation + Paper

Presentation + Paper

Design evolution of the Giant Magellan Telescope Integral Field Spectrograph, GMTIFS

R. Sharp, D. Adams, G. Bloxham, R. Boz, D. Bundy, D. Chandler, G. Gausachs, L. Gers, J. Hart, N. Herrald, J. Nielsen, E. O'Brien, C. Onken, I. Price, A. Vaccarella, C. Vest, P. Young

Proceedings Volume 10702, 107021V (2018) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2313010

KEYWORDS: Sensors, Adaptive optics, Imaging systems, Spectrographs, Optical benches, Iterated function systems, Wavefront sensors, Prototyping, Telescopes, Optical design

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Showing 5 of 16 publications

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