Mesa Unified School District latest to use robots for sporting events

PHOENIX — Mesa Unified School District is the latest district to utilize TinyMobileRobots, which help keep campuses clean and mark fields used in sporting activities.

The robots are also used in other Valley schools and cities, ranging from Surprise to Gilbert.

Blake Andersen with TinyMobileRobots said the Mesa district originally reached out to buy a single robot after learning about them.

“One unit turned into three, and then they wanted to have a unit per high school, so they don’t have to move them around.”

How to TinyMobileRobots help school districts?

The robots help districts in two main ways.

First, they’re able to mark sports fields by themselves, which can be a lengthy and difficult process for faculty staff.

This means existing staff are able to focus on other projects and keep campuses clean.

But they can also save money for school districts.

“It makes their campus overall healthier and better looking … It saves money on paint as well, helping districts be more efficient and save money,” Andersen said.

When those robots start rolling around campuses, they also catch the attention of young learners.

“The kids really get a kick out of it, a lot of times they’ll come up and call it ‘Wall-E’, like from the movie,” Andersen said.

Andersen believes the robots are a vessel to help staff, not take their jobs away.

“Our goal is not to take jobs away it’s to make your job easier,” Andersen said. “The job of painting fields is one of the least favorable jobs in any of these departments.”

Andersen also expects this technology to be more commonplace over the next 5 to 10 years, whether robots are used in schools, by cities or even by individuals.

“More and more people just know that this works now because they’ve seen it all around,” Andersen said.