Painting With Robots
Manatee County Parks uses technology to save money and manpower
By David Shurmur
Photos: David Shurmur
In January 2019, Manatee County (Fla.) moved into the 21st century of field painting with its first GPS, robotic field-painting robot. It was purchased for the Premier Sports Campus (PSC), a 75-acre, natural-turf facility that brings in high-level clients and tournaments, such as U.S. Soccer, the USL Showcase, and the Developmental Academy Showcase, to name a few. After 2 years of using this technology, officials have seen the benefits this could bring to all of their athletic facilities and have since purchased two more robots, making the days of measuring and pulling string a thing of the past.
How It Works
The robot works with an advanced GPS system that delivers pinpoint accuracy for field painting. All fields are set up with customizable layouts for all types of sports in the tablet that comes with the robot. Once a field is set up, the location is saved in the tablet, so one can paint that field in the same exact manner at any time. At the PSC, the robot has done all the field painting since its arrival. It can even be used to spell out words or print logos in the turf. A typical, full-size soccer field takes 20 to 30 minutes, based on the options selected.
Worth The Money
It is an investment to purchase or lease a turf tank robot, but the return is greater than the cost. The county uses less paint and time to mark a field compared to “traditional” painting methods. For example, for an event that requires 20 fields to be painted, it would take two to four employees a full week of 8+-hour days to complete the work. Now, with the robot, the same job is done in 2 to 3 regular work days with one staff member operating the robot. In addition to labor, there has also been a savings in paint costs; a typical soccer field can be completed using about three gallons of paint instead of six.
While the labor and material savings of using the robot have been great, one of the biggest impacts is the quality of the field delivered to the clients. They are always impressed when they see perfectly painted, professional-looking fields.
Another benefit is the ease in which a field can be shifted. Being able to easily move fields up, down, left, or right to spread the wear on the turf saves money instead of re-sodding areas that previously would wear out.
The Future
Manatee County has 52 soccer fields and five football fields that are regularly lined for different-size soccer, football, and lacrosse games. Staff members spend countless hours at least twice a year laying these fields out with string and tape measures; they continue to repaint and mark the fields throughout the season. Now, the fleet of robots saves the locations of the fields, removing the need for string and tape measures. Meanwhile, the staff savings will translate into improving other areas of the parks that normally get neglected due to the time needed to paint fields. In turn, high-quality fields and beautiful parks will provide higher client satisfaction and draw more events. This will indirectly bring more income into the parks, making the field-painting robot truly a great investment.
David Shurmur is the Parks Maintenance Supervisor for Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. Reach him at (941) 757-1582.