The firm will develop a remote, unattended, knowledge-based observatory operated by a microcomputer. Dependent on observational goals and conditions and the state of the equipment, this system will dynamically and automatically plan and schedule observations, monitor its status and, should a failure occur, determine which module should be replaced. This innovation is a translation of the knowledge of expert astronomers, engineers, and managers into a set of heuristic rules that provides task planning and reasoning in a complex and dynamic environment. Phase I will establish the basic technical feasibility and merit of unattended, knowledge-based astronomical observatories. Two key results will be a simulation of all the major aspects of the system and its decision processes, and a preliminary design of a prototype observatory to be constructed and used during Phase II to demonstrate the practicability of an unattended observatory.The advantages of knowledge-based observatories will be so overwhelming in the area of economy of operation, direct and convenient user operation, and self-diagnosis that dozens of knowledge-based observatories will be sold.automatic, observatories, telescopes, knowledge-based, reasoning, scheduling, diagnosticsSTATUS: Phase I Only
