SPIRou @CFHT: design of the instrument control system

SPIRou is a near-IR (0.98-2.35\u3bcm), echelle spectropolarimeter / high precision velocimeter being designed as a next-generation instrument for the 3.6m Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii, with the main goals of detecting Earth-like planets around low-mass stars and magnetic fields of forming stars. The unique scientific and technical capabilities of SPIRou are described in a series of eight companion papers. In this paper, the means of controlling the instrument are discussed. Most of the instrument control is fairly normal, using off-the-shelf components where possible and reusing already available code for these components. Some aspects, however, are more challenging. In particular, the paper will focus on the challenges of doing fast (50 Hz) guiding with 30 mas repeatability using the object being observed as a reference and on thermally stabilizing a large optical bench to a very high precision ( 3c1 mK).Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye