What it is
The difference between an installation that works at opening and one that works in year twelve is not the software — it’s the operations around the software. Starwatch is that layer, made into a platform: an operations layer designed for systems that must run unattended, in buildings with no in-house technical staff.
What’s built in
Watching. Starwatch checks the things a technician would check, continuously — is the exhibit running, is the machine healthy, are the screens showing what they should be showing — because in a public gallery, a display set up wrong is a failure the same as a crash.
Recovering. When something goes wrong, the default outcome is a running exhibit again — not a dark screen waiting for a staff member to notice, or a visitor to complain.
Updating without fear. Every update is backed up before it happens and can be undone if it misbehaves. Installations improve over their lifetime; Starwatch is why an update is routine maintenance rather than a risk to opening hours.
Reporting up. Everything Starwatch sees flows to Galaxy’s dashboards, where the institution’s own staff can see every installation at once — and restart or update any of them — without calling anyone. The whole fleet, one screen.
Why it exists
Sitara’s operational thesis is that exhibits are long-lived infrastructure, and infrastructure earns its keep through uptime, not novelty. Starwatch is that thesis as software: it’s how a nine-week exhibition ran daily with nobody standing next to it.