DESI’s focal plane is designed to sit high atop the Mayall Telescope and to carry 5,000 robotic positioners, each holding a fiber-optic cable. Each of these fiber-toting robots is automatically positioned to fix on a preset sequence of individual galaxies and quasars so that the fibers can collect their light. The movements of these positioners must be carefully choreographed to avoid bumping into one another.
The roundish focal plane, which measures nearly a meter in diameter, consists of 10 pie-shaped wedges that are fit snugly together. Each wedge holds 500 robotic positioners. The focal plane also contains sensors and light sources called field fiducials that help ensure the positioners are in proper alignment.
