Robotic Groundskeeper

Abstract

Sports field maintenance is an expensive and labor-intensive task regardless of whether the field is designed for professional or recreational use. Maintenance comparisons between natural and turf fields show that for a 65,000 square-foot field, both turf and natural fields require about 300 hours of labor annually (natural turf field labor can range from 250-750 hours a year).  We have designed a sports maintenance robot to perform the line painting task on football fields to improve the performance and quality of maintenance. This proof of concept robotic device was designed to spray a 10-yard by 10-yard area of the field including side lines and hash marks. To complete its task, the robot will be required to spray water lines as proxies of paint along its path of travel, hash marks perpendicular to its path of travel, and make 90-degree turns to continue along the travel path. The design utilizes two electric motors powered by two DC batteries and controlled by motor controllers to follow a predetermined path. The robot moves forward by operating both motors simultaneously, while turning is performed by operating one motor forwards and one backwards. To spray the field, the design utilizes a fluid pump to push water through the nozzle, as well as an extension arm which allows for the painting of hash marks. Control of the system is performed by an Arduino Uno.