The MeerKAT graphical user interface technology stack

The South African MeerKAT radio telescope, currently being built some 90 km outside the small Northern Cape town of Carnarvon, is a precursor to the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) telescope and will be integrated into the mid-frequency component of SKA Phase 1. Providing the graphical user interface (GUI) for MeerKAT required a reassessment of currently employed technologies with a strong focus on leveraging modern user interface technologies and design techniques. An extensive investigation was performed to evaluate and assess potential GUI technologies and frameworks. The result of this investigative study identified a responsive web application for the frontend and asynchronous web server for the backend. In particular the AngularJS framework used in combination with Material Design principles, Websockets and other popular javascript layout and imaging libraries, such as D3.js, proved an ideal fit for the requirements of the MeerKAT GUI frontend. This paper will provide a summary of the user interface technology investigation and further expound on the whole technology stack adopted to provide a modern user interface with real time capabilities. (author)