700576Micropply TerraPrinter-TurfX - a multi-colour autonomous turf marking ‘robot’ClosedGRD Proof of MarketInnovate UKThis project aims to demonstrate market feasibility of an autonomous multi-colour turf marking ‘robot’ and ‘turf-friendly’ colourant ink cartridge ‘refill’. Sports Pitch Markings (logos/media messages) are a versatile and recent addition to professional turf playing surfaces in stadia. They play an important function in communicating advertising/ sponsorship to public, feeding a US$trillion ad industry, as well as delivering social messages (e.g. stop bullying). As such, turf markings give facility owners ability to construct education and advertising in prime locations (on both playing surface and surrounding areas) which are televised to >100m viewers/wk in over 150 countries. This has led to a wealth of global opportunity for both stadia owners and businesses providing turf marking services. There are 100,000+ professional stadia globally, together providing 7.5bn seats to ticketholders every week. The total global markings industry is estimated at US$50bn, and employees >250,000 people. The new turf logo segment is estimated at US$1bn (Gartner, 2014). However, current multi-colour turf logo marking is done manually, requires a 6-8 person team with expensive equipment (pumps, compressors, paint applicators), and requires bespoke disposable templates designed/manufactured in advance to ensure proper logo appearance when televised. A further problem with current methods is that pigments in existing turf paints used can only be removed by applying a chemical, which does not entirely remove pigment from the turf, leaving visible stains. Further, current pigments are not compostable, so remain in the ground substrate, preventing drainage and irreparably damaging the turf. This is a major concern since a professional turf playing surface costs > £1m to install and is 95% of what is televised during a live sporting broadcast. TerraPrinter-TurfX solves these problems