Design and Development of a Mobile Line Painting Robot for Sports Fields

This paper presents the early development of an autonomous mobile line painting robot for sports fields, focusing on the initial stages of design, simulation, and system integration in the project’s first phase. The project addresses the limitations of traditional manual field marking, which is labour- intensive, time-consuming, and requires significant operational effort to achieve consistent results. The work carried out included an extensive literature review, conceptual design using SolidWorks CAD modelling, component selection, development of a user-friendly Android application interface, and simulation testing with Proteus software. The Raspberry Pi 4 serves as the main processing unit, paired with the TCS34725 colour sensor for line quality detection and a camera module for vision-based navigation. The Android application allows users to input custom field dimensions, automatically scaling to standard football layouts, and to initiate or stop painting operations remotely. Initial simulation results verify the feasibility of the design, demonstrating correct motor control, sensor feedback processing, and paint spraying logic under multiple operational scenarios. Expected achievements include prototype fabrication, integration of hardware and software modules, and real field testing to evaluate accuracy, efficiency, and durability. The proposed system aims to deliver a precise, reliable, and fully autonomous solution for sports field maintenance, contributing to the broader application of mobile robotics in outdoor environments.