Starbug – A Smart Focal Plane technology for ELT instruments

Starbug is a robotic positioning development concept for deploying many payloads, such as pickoff optics, optical fibres, integral field units, to micron level accuracy over a flat or curved focal surface. With a heritage of fibre positioners such as 2dF, OzPoz and FMOS-Echidna, this concept addresses some of the limitations of other positioning systems to provide a reliable, cost effective way of positioning multiple payloads in ambient or cryogenic environments. Starbug employs micro-robotic actuators that independently and simultaneously position multiple small payloads accurately across a field plate. In this paper we present the general Starbug concept and some selected results from the Starbug development program that so far has been primarily targeted at developing smart focal plane enabling technologies for ELTs.