The future of robotic telescopes for education

Abstract

The development of robotic telescopes for education is reviewed. The problems associated with providing a service for students at different levels of education are discussed. Consideration is made of the hardware requirements in the students’ institution and the compromises that are made to allow the maximum number of students to use facilities. The demands on teachers are considered along with the available methods of delivering educational projects related to curricular demands at the various stages. The likely developments in the technology are considered and estimates made of the probable timescales. Proposals are made to optimise student access to observing facilities that would involve the development of a linux-like collaboration around astronomy software and the development of low cost telescope systems. Proposals are made to realise such systems with the objective of providing universal access for students with Internet access.