ASCOM is an open initiative to provide a standard interface to a range of astronomy equipment including mounts, focusers and imaging devices in a Microsoft Windows environment.
ASCOM was invented in late 1997 and early 1998 by Bob Denny

Bob Denny

Bob Denny is an American software developer who writes software for robotic telescope and remote telescope systems. He is the inventor of the Astronomy Common Object Model standard, which has resulted in the easy availability of freeware device drivers for telescopes, telescope focusers, and...

, when he released two commercial programs and several freeware utilities that showcased the technology.