TMT adaptive optics systems control architecture

Achieving the science goals of TMT will require AO subsystems of unprecedented power and sophistication, including a Real Time Controller (RTC) subsystem that will implement wavefront reconstruction and control algorithms for up to four different laser guide star (LGS) AO systems. The requirements for the RTC represent a significant advance over the current generation of astronomical AO control systems, both in terms of the wavefront reconstruction algorithms to be employed and the new hardware approaches that will be required. Additionally, the number of active components included in the AO systems and the complexity of their interactions will require a highly automated AO Sequencer that will work in concert with the TMT Telescope and Instrument Sequencers. In this paper, we will describe the control and software requirements for the whole AO system, and in particular for the RTC and the AO Sequencer. We will describe the challenges involved in developing these systems and will present a conceptual design.