Doncaster Council invests in a robot to rejuvenate the town's sport pitches

Dozens of sports pitches in the Doncaster region are to be rejuvenated with investment in a futuristic GPS controlled robot.
The new robotThe new robot
The new robot

The diminutive line marker utilises the latest technology to connect to global satellites and mobile network connections, inputting pitch dimensions and multiple pitches via an app and re-positions them to best fit the site using Google Maps.

Once stored, the lines are never lost even if they disappear when a pitch is not used for any length of time.

The new robotThe new robot
The new robot

This means a drastic saving in time and money for the team.

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Whereas previously each of the 92 full sized football pitches in the area would take up to four man-hours to accurately initially mark, now one operator is able to deliver a borough-wide service for line marking, taking just 20 minutes to mark a pitch at the touch of a button.

It is feasible that a standard pitch can now be mowed and marked in less than an hour.

Councillor for Highways, Street Scene and Trading Services, Joe Blackham, said: "The technology in this equipment is quite remarkable, both in its ability and what it subsequently allows us to achieve.

“We’ve calculated that while the line marker is working its magic, our team can perform other tasks during their visit – such as litter picking, goalpost strimming and divotting – and approximately 800 man-hours will effectively be put back into the Street Scene operation.

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“While there are huge efficiency and financial savings, it also generates more job satisfaction for the team; no longer are people required to monotonously line-mark every week and, ultimately, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be offering line marking to other sites on a commercial basis.”

The impressive device is not restricted to marking just football pitches and is capable of delivering on rugby union, rugby league pitches as well as multi-lane athletic tracks, tennis, lacrosse and American football pitches.