Robot paints lines, saves time

EPHRATA – The Ephrata School District has been using a “tiny robot” for around a year to paint the fields at Ephrata Middle School and Ephrata High School. 

The robot uses GPS coordinates to paint markings for the district’s 16 athletic fields. The new system allows for one maintenance person to monitor the tablet and the robot instead of having two people spend hours at a time painting the field, according to district officials. Staff have been able to multitask while the robot completes its job. The Ephrata School Board had approved the $30,000 purchase.  

“The purpose of the machine is to paint your fields instead of having to go out with two guys and marking the field out and painting it with a push sprayer,” Transportation Director Adam Roduner said. “This requires one person to paint. It will paint the field, soccer, softball, track and field, football, whatever you program it to do. It will paint and it uses less paint than a pushing sprayer because it is able to hold a steady speed.”  

The robot only takes around 20 minutes to paint all the lines on a soccer field, according to Roduner. Prior to the purchase, two to three staff would work for two days to complete the same task.  

“It’s been very helpful, and it is showing to be cost-effective too by using less paint and less hours to do the same job,” Roduner said.  

At the school district’s practice fields, lines no longer needed to be burned into the grass, increasing player safety as the field remained flat without indented areas from the burned lines. 

    Mike Nicholson from the Ephrata School District's Maintenance Department controls the machine that now paints the district’s 16 athletic fields.