This aerial panoramic photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province.(Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
PINGTANG, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Five intelligent robot systems and platforms for the maintenance of China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST), the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, have passed inspection and can be put into use, local authorities said on Wednesday.
The intelligent robots will be mainly used in testing of the supporting cables and pulleys of FAST's feed, the automatic maintenance of its actuators and laser targets on the reflector, the disassembling and installation of feed receivers, the monitoring of radio interference, and the all-weather measurement of its 30-tonne feed cabin.
According to Jiang Peng, FAST's chief engineer, the intelligent robots will help safeguard the telescope's operation, increasing its observation duration and efficiency while promoting more scientific results.
Dubbed the "China Sky Eye," the telescope is located in a naturally deep and round karst depression in the southwestern province of Guizhou. It has a reception area equal to 30 standard football fields.
A staff member checks a maintenance robot designed for China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, on July 26, 2023. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
This aerial photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
A staff member adjusts a maintenance robot platform system designed for China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, on July 25, 2023. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
This aerial panoramic photo taken on July 26, 2023 shows China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
Staff members adjust a maintenance robot designed for China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, on July 26, 2023.(Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)
A staff member adjusts a maintenance robot designed for China's Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical Radio Telescope (FAST) in southwest China's Guizhou Province, on July 25, 2023.(Xinhua/Ou Dongqu)■
