The quest for an autonomous ASKAP: automating the next-generation of survey telescopes

The Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder is an array of 36 x 12m dishes, and is the newest radio telescope owned and operated by CSIRO, Australia's national science agency. As a telescope designed to carry out large all-sky surveys, it necessitated a significant divergence from the existing astronomer-operated ATNF telescopes. This presented the observatory with a unique opportunity to redefine what science operations look like from the foundations up, rather than inheriting existing structures and systems. Since the start of Pilot Surveys Phase I in mid 2019, we have aimed to increase automation of ASKAP as much as possible, with the end goal of carrying out science operations in a way which maximises the autonomy of the system and minimises the reliance on human-centric decision making. Alongside a number of changes to the way the telescope is operated and monitored, a key ongoing development has been SAURON (Scheduling Autonomously Under Reactive Observational Needs), which has been primarily responsible for science observation scheduling since late 2020. I will present an overview of our progress so far towards full survey operations starting in 2022, especially with respect to the critical role of automation, autonomy and AI in paving the path to the next generation of complex telescope systems.