The SDSS-V Local Volume Mapper robotic system: design, implementation, and commissioning

The Local Volume Mapper (LVM) is a robotic survey, part of the fifth iteration of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), which aims to obtain integral field spectroscopy of over 4300 square degrees in the plane Milky Way and the Local Volume. LVM operates from a fully automated facility at Las Campanas Observatory in Chile, without in-person or remote observers. In this paper, we review the considerations that drove the design of the robotic facility, discuss the technical details of the implementation, and provide an overview of the commissioning of the robotic system, the first few months of operation, and lessons learned during this process. In particular, we review the hardware and software architecture, the use of Kubernetes clusters for the deployment of highly multiplexed services, the safety and alerting procedures, and tools developed for monitoring and visualisation of the facility and survey progress. We conclude by discussing the commissioning and first few months of operation of the robotic facility and highlight lessons learned that can inform the development of future mid-sized robotic facilities.