Qwen Office Helps Build Research Telescope Simulator in Three Days

Alibaba announced that its Qwen Office AI platform assisted the National Astronomical Observatories of China in developing a research-grade telescope digital simulation system in just three days for under 1,000 RMB. Compared to traditional software development methods that typically take three months and tens of thousands of yuan, this reduces the development timeline and cost by two orders of magnitude. This project highlights a practical implementation of AI agents leveraging standardized tools like the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to automate complex scientific systems. By drastically lowering the barrier to hardware simulation, AI can accelerate scientific workflows and mission planning without putting expensive real-world astronomical instruments at risk. Telescope sensors, components, and environment data were encapsulated into standard MCP interfaces, allowing AI agents to monitor equipment status, plan tasks, and run verification loops autonomously. Beyond simulation, the system was connected to the "Si Tian" pathfinder telescope, successfully detecting eight early supernova candidates, two of which triggered subsequent real-world observations.