Description:
<jats:p>Adaptive optics (AO), by compensating in real time the blurring due to atmospheric turbulence, improves the angular resolution and the sensitivity of ground-based telescopes. AO represents an opportunity for medium size telescopes to be competitive with respect to large and very large observatories. AO can be beneficial for most scientific cases and – we think – reachable with a reasonable effort. In this contribution, we review the current state of adaptive optics in medium size telescopes, discuss promising avenues and present a possible science case for the DOT. In the second part, we present the relevant expertise we are currently building up in Liège in the framework of the SALTO project, a 1-m telescope demonstrator with laser guided adaptive optics.</jats:p>