METIS: the Mid-Infrared Imager and Spectrograph for the Extremely Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory. (METIS)

METIS is the mid-infrared imager and spectrograph to be mounted on the Extremely Large
Telescope which is the 39 meter telescope being constructed in Chile by the European Southern
Observatory. The METIS instrument is designed and build by a consortium of institutes and here
we propose to continue to contribute to this endeavour. After a successful preliminary design
review, the project is now in its final design stage with a final design review to be ready in 2021,
before procurement and integration can start. The instrument will have its first light in 2027. Our
role in the consortium is founded on our technical expertise which we have build-up in the last
decades. Within the international consortium, we are responsible for the global instrument
control, which includes the general electrical and control design, electronics and control software.
We provide the system lead for the control software. Moreover, we contribute to the data
analyses pipeline specifications as well as to the definition of top-level control scripts for
calibration and observing templates. Our project will lead to guaranteed access to the most
powerful astronomical facility for the Flemish astronomers.