A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit Rugby School to meet up with my good old friend and past work colleague, James Mead, who on the 1st of September celebrated his fifteenth-year work anniversary at the school.
It only seems like yesterday since he took up the post of estates manager at Rugby School. The purpose of my visit was twofold - one to catch up with James and talk about the achievements of the grounds team since his appointment and secondly take the opportunity to see a demonstration of the new automated robotic line marker, Turf Tank ONE, that was being demonstrated by Alex Robinson and Matt Murray the company’s UK regional managers.
James and I both started our working careers as Parks Apprentices with Birmingham City Council in 1972 and over the years have gone out of our way to keep in touch with one another. James has always been an innovator and invested in the best machinery and equipment he can afford with the aim of improving the efficiency of his staff and quality of his playing surfaces.
The opportunity to get a demonstration of the Turf Tank robotic line marker came about following a conversation with Alex Robinson who thought I would be interested in seeing their latest model in action. After a quick phone call to James, the demonstration was soon arranged.
James Mead, left, with members of his grounds team
James has always been a good supporter of demonstrations, as they help the staff try out the latest equipment, seeing it working first-hand. I was quite excited myself, as James was keen to see it working on the school’s first team rugby pitch on the famous Close grounds.
This pitch is particularly famous as it is the first pitch the Reverend William Webb Ellis, an English Anglican clergyman and the supposed inventor of rugby football, played rugby on while a pupil at Rugby School. According to legend, Webb Ellis picked up the ball and ran with it during a school football match in 1823, thus creating the ‘rugby’ style of play.
So effectively, we were witnessing another first in seeing this famous rugby pitch being marked out totally autonomously.
James arranged for all his grounds staff to attend the demonstration to enable them to see the Turf Tank ONE being put through its paces.
This autonomous robotic line marker is produced by Denmark-based Turf Tank Limited, who since 2017 have sold significant numbers of these markers in the US through Turf Tank, Acworth, GA.
The demonstration was led by the company’s two UK regional managers, Alex Robinson (south)and Matt Murray (north), who gave a talk on the principles of how the robotic marker works and then went through setting up the machine to mark out the rugby pitch.
What makes this line marker stand out is that no matter where these sites are located, be it in the middle of nowhere or pitches under trees, the Turf Tank ONE will be able to mark. This is because Turf Tank is the only company in the industry to provide a base station with their robot. Using a base station provides accuracy of +/-1cm and ensures that the robot will overmark lines with supreme precision and mark out new pitches with ease.
Unlike other GPS systems the company boast that the intelligent robot base station allows the machine to be operated without needing an expensive annual cellular contract, instead using real-time kinematic (RTK) connectivity and coverage. Using this system means the marker can be used anywhere with unprecedented reliability while matching the marking speed of any robotic line marker on the market.
To keep up with the needs of modern clubs and schools, the robot can also mark out logos, numbers and letters. All of these can be accessed on the tablet and placed anywhere on site.
The Turf Tank ONE robot has pre-designed templates for up to 40 plus sports pitches. The robot is controlled from an app on an Android tablet, which comes as standard. A base station is required to be set up nearby to relay relevant information to and from the robot.
It is then a case of locating the robot onto two fixed points of the pitch, usually the goal post sockets, giving the machine a reference point to work from. Then the dimensions, width and length of the pitch are entered in the app.
Once all this information is entered, the Robotic line marker will drive straight to the starting point and begin painting. The machine also gives you an estimated time for completion - in this example an initial mark set at around thirty-five minutes.
The company offer their own make of prepared paint but say you can use any other similarly approved marking paint. The marker can carry a 20litre size container of paint and the battery has a four- and half-hour working capacity, enough time to mark out three to four rugby / football pitches.
The robot is a highly advanced computer with algorithms and timing mechanisms that correlates with the pump pressure and nozzle output.
Once Alex had set up the robot, it was then time for a quick dummy run with no paint in to check if it was aligned with the existing fixed points of the pitch. Once James and the staff where satisfied with its set up, it was time to place the 20 litre paint container in the marker and begin painting.
It started marking from the bottom left corner of the pitch, and began painting the perimeter of the pitch, then moving into position to mark dead ball, 22 metre and half-way lines before finishing on dotted lines. It was amazing to see the pitch unfold before our very eyes.
While we continued to observe this machine do its job, James and his staff were constantly watching and asking relevant questions, about, what safety features it has and how can you correct or change things during activity.
James and his staff were keen to see how accurate and straight the lines would be. Once the first line was down it was apparent how true and accurate the lines actually were.
Alex and Matt, spoke about all the features the machine has and how to rectify any issues. The robot has sensors front and back which enables it to stop automatically if something or someone gets in the way.
The speed of the machine was also commendable in that it was fast and steady completing its task in less than 40 minutes.
All in all, an excellent demonstration of how new technologies are able to assist and do jobs we previously thought impossible. James was clear that the accuracy, speed and precision of this machine was far better than any of the previous line marking demonstrations he’d seen. Alex’s final job was to show the team how quick and easy it was to wash the system through and keep the marker clean.
However, after such an inspiring demonstration the one question on everybody lips, was how much does this system cost?
The makers of Turf Tank, have recently announced a range of new subscription options for the UK. The pricing tiers vary based on the complexity of the leasing plan, with an attractive entry point for small clubs, which manage only one type of field, to more complex services offered in the high-tier - such as customized logo creation, longer battery hours and special robot wrapping.
The company say the benefits of a subscription include unlimited software updates, access to a world-class support team, limited product warranty and an annual supply of paint.
Lettering and number stencilling, plus all the accessories for operating the robot including the tablet and nozzles come as standard, and customers can choose from the three different subscriptions to find a package that best suits their needs. More information about the subscription can be offered on enquiry.
Offering the robot in this way has apparently proved very successful in the USA, and Turf Tank CEO, Olav Jørgensen, hopes providing the same opportunity in the UK will open the Turf Tank One up to more grounds professionals and contractors.
You can contact alex@turftank.co.uk (southern UK) or matt@turftank.co.uk (northern UK) for more information on the Turf Tank One subscription packages or to have a demonstration yourself.
There no getting away from its performance. It was very quick, accurate and produced a good, clean line. And it no doubt saves a lot of man marking hours.
We were all impressed with its performance on the day and can see many benefits from having one of these machines. In terms of labour saving, accuracy and speed of marking out pitches it will definitely give James something to mull over. He will no doubt be considering the most attractive financial option to deliver the best solution for Rugby School.
