The Washington County, Florida School District High School Athletic Departments in Chipley and Vernon use technology to save time and money on the football fields, by striping the fields prior to Home games with an automated robot painter, as seen in these photos by Florida Panhandle Technical College photography student David McInnis.
The unit, named Turf Tank One, is shared by the two competing high schools to save time and money when needing their respective football fields striped prior to a game.
‘We share the unit with Vernon’, says Chipley Football Coach Marcus Buchanan, ‘and we share the cost with the School District and Vernon, so it works out pretty good for all of us’.
The machine, which resembles a ‘Roomba’ on steroids, uses GPS technology, is programmed to strip the field, including hashmarks and numbers, and can even paint the outline of the school logo if desired.
‘It would take a couple of guys and a lot of hours if we did this by hand like we used to do’, says Buchanan. ‘We are using this new technology for the second year and so far it’s working well’.
