AIGO is located 80 kilometres north-east of Perth. It was opened in 2000 as a cutting edge research centre providing a national focus in a major frontier in physics: the detection of gravitational waves and the development of gravitational astronoy using long baseline laser interferometry.

Among the most sensitive instruments ever devised by mankind, AIGO's laser interferometer lies concealed inside an L-shaped vacuum chamber 160 metres long and completely cut off from any earthly sound, light, or motion (to the extend that current technology can achieve). The machinery that maintains this environment must operate at peak performance 24/7 for many months at a stretch and be continuously monitored and controlled. This task demands a highly reliable system that can perform conditions, and provide a controlled and simple user interface, all while offering plug-and-play flexibility to a dynamic and growing facility.

The GPAC System^® has automated the management of the facility and its processes. It does this by monitoring various inputs including:

• Control motors fault sensors
• Air pressure sensors
• Power

The "manual activation" feature also allows a user to start/stop an operation using the user interface. The authorized user can then choose whether to manually start/stop an AIGO device using a Panel Button or to use the GPAC System^® interface.