Efficiency and accuracy are the words Ben Freese, UNI athletics facilities attendant, uses to describe the new sports field painting robot. In July, Facilities Management took the next step towards advancement, investing in the tablet-operated robot that can paint just about any sports field. And it’s a big time saver, now taking almost a quarter as long as before. 

“From pulling the strings, getting everything lined up, mixing up the paint, taking it out and walking it to paint the field, waiting for it to dry, pulling off the strings, and then cleaning the machine, it used to take about eight hours. Now it takes two and a half hours from beginning to end,” Freese says. With Freese painting multiple fields each week, that time can be invested into other aspects of his work.

With the robot’s efficiency, Freese has an easier time keeping the fields looking fresh. Freese says, “Depending on the weather, I will usually repaint it before a game. Before, I had hoped to get it painted once to last the entire week.”

The robot has another attribute to the painting process: accuracy. With grass surfaces and human error, the lines were sometimes off. “With the robot, there’s no deviation, it’s on top of the same line each time… nice, straight and crisp. It makes everything look a little more professional,” Freese says. 

The robot’s painting process has required much less paint than if Ben Freese were to paint the field himself, overall saving costs for the facilities department. “I think in the long run it will pay for itself and be worthwhile," he says. On top of this, the robot is in the works to provide other painting services, such as parking lots, signs and logos.