Robot helper hoped to help with labour-intensive sports grounds-keeping

The Royal Borough has tested out a robot designed to mark out perfect playing pitches – offering the potential to save staff time to spend on other grounds maintenance work.

The machine can be used for both initial marking out of pitches and over-marking during the season to keep the pitch fresh, using pre-programmed GPS instructions to paint 100 per cent straight and accurate lines.

Programming and supervising the robot can be done by one operative, whereas initial marking out traditionally requires two people and is more time-consuming. The robot is considerably quicker and uses less paint too.

The council’s grounds maintenance contractor, Tivoli, led the demo at Clewer Memorial Recreation Ground after the completion of initial marking of the borough’s pitches a few weeks ago.

Councillor Joshua Reynolds, cabinet member for communities and leisure, said: “This one-off demo came at no cost to the council and we have a perfect playing pitch at the end of it too.

“Initial marking is traditionally a labour-intensive two-person job, and we look after several playing pitches across the borough, so any genuine efficiencies that save operative time to focus on other grounds maintenance priorities is well worth exploring further for next season.”