In a 23rd Feb article at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic
Engineers (IEEE) Spectrum Magazine's web site, John Boyd reports that
the Mitsubishi Electric prototype robot which is designed to handle
the Thirty Meter Telescope's (TMT) 392 mirror segments is completed.
This is despite construction of the TMT itself being stalled.
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Originally Posted by John Boyd, IEEE
Though this project is backed by the governments of China, Japan, Canada, and India, as well as the United States, it may never be built. For its location is considered sacred by some Hawaiians, whose protests have been heard all the way to the State Supreme Court of Hawaii, which in December 2015 invalidated TMT’s previously granted building permit.
With the project suspended for over a year, involved scientist and construction companies can only keep their fingers crossed that the contested case will go their way.
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by John Boyd, IEEE
The glass mirrors are coated with aluminum to make them reflective. But the aluminum degrades over time and recoating is required roughly every two years. To retrieve a particular mirror for maintenance and to replace it with a reserve mirror requires some heavy lifting—albeit with a gentle touch, so as not to damage the relatively fragile glass. And this is where the SHS robot system comes into play.
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Story here -
http://spectrum.ieee.org/automaton/a...to-build-ready
