BATTLE OF THE ROBOTS
New launch on the scene
by TurfPro Editor, Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR
 
Laurence Gale MSC, MBPR

Last week I was invited to attend the launch of Fleet Line Markers’ new robotic line marker at Malvern College, alongside 70-plus industry professionals.


On arrival at the college, we assembled in one of the lecture theatres to hear a presentation by John Carr and Iain Courage on the development of the robot and how it fits in with the industry’s needs, complimenting the company’s existing portfolio.

 


 
I personally, was wondering why Fleet had waited until this moment to announce the development and production of a robotic line marker. From what they were saying, since the development of the MAQA GPS line marking system, it was only going to be a matter of time before they produced a robotic version of the technology. 


However, Covid got in the way and delayed the project. It was not until 2023 that they pushed on with the programme to design and build the new product.


It began with some collaborations with several companies in New Zealand and Australia in May of that year and by December they had built their first prototype. Then in January ‘24 they had completed all testing and were ready for the launch in New Zealand. 


With over 70 years of trading, Fleet Line Markers have built up a strong reputation for developing new line marking technologies.

 


 
John was keen to get across the relevant details of the new robotic linemarker, talking abouts its development and key features. 

 

 

 
The precision and accuracy of the robot is delivered by Fleet having developed their own RTK Base Station network, with the base station supplied with the purchase of the robot.

 


The robot is fitted with a removable integrated RTK plotter (spike) that you can use to plot your pitch positions. Via 4G connection it communicates with the software and satellites to deliver precise pitch lines for a range of sports.


During the talk a few questions were taken from the floor about the performance of the robotic line marker, centred around its accuracy - which was stated at about 5mm.


Questions were also asked about the range of the base station, which is about 6 miles.   However the question on everyone’s mind was how much it cost?

 


The final slide of the presentation revealed this, and to be honest most of the audience were relatively surprised. It came out at £15,000 for the robot and £2,500  for the annual subscription. 


And if you were to buy and use Fleet’s paints, the annual fee would be reduced by 50% and you get some discount on long term paint supplies.


Comparing these prices against existing competitors’ robotic line markers, which can range anywhere between £22,000 and £36,000, Fleet’s robots are considerably less costly. But as John said in his presentation, “We want to take the market by storm and sell 1000’s globally. We’ll make our money on paint sales.”
 
So, for many of the customers in the room I believe the Fleet Robotic line market could be a game changer. It will no doubt cause a stir with its competitive price.

 


Guests then had a chance to see the robot marking out a football pitch from scratch. John explained how to set up the robot and used the remote control to set the machine up and send it on its way. It took around 25 minutes to complete the marking, during which time we had some lunch provided and had time to network with each another. 


I met up with many Fleet customers who were parks managers, council operatives and sports turf contractors – some of whom already use other makes of robotic line markers and were keen to see the performance of this new one. First impressions were good they told me. They liked the look of it and its build quality.


For me personally, I was impressed with its design and layout and the fact it seemed simple to use as well as being a robust machine.

 

John was keen to point out that there were a number of further improvements in the pipeline and urged anybody who buys one that has suggestions of ways of improving the machine, they would only be too glad to accommodate where appropriate.


All in all, I had an enjoyable day seeing a new piece of equipment that will help improve the efficiency and accuracy of pitch line marking. 

In this issue
EDITOR'S BLOG
BATTLE OF THE ROBOTS
NEWS
GMA SAY THEY ARE 'DEEPLY DISAPPOINTED'
SHOWCASE FACILITY IN DEVELOPMENT
BARONESS ANNOUNCE EXPANSION FOR DEALER
EDUCATION PROGRAMME REVEALED
FULL CIRCLE MOMENT
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