A GPS-connected robot named Linus is helping Hilliard's turf manager turn weeks of field-painting work into a three-day job across the city's 41 athletic grass fields.

Zach Pearl, turf manager for Hilliard's Recreation and Parks Department, oversees the Hilliard Athletic Complex at 3680 Cosgray Road and paints fields at Father Roderic J. DiPietro Park, Roger A. Reynolds Municipal Park and the Hilliard Ohio Soccer Association Complex. He bounces between sites daily, managing turf that generated more than $214,000 in field rental revenue for the city in 2025.

His secret weapon: Linus, a field-painting robot that connects to a base station communicating with 32 satellites. Pearl programs GPS coordinates through a tablet, and Linus handles the rest.

"What would take City staff weeks can now be completed in about three days with Linus' help," Pearl told the city's website in a profile published Aug. 3. "He's super accurate and very efficient. Depending on the field size, he can paint an entire field with less than a gallon of paint."

No more stringing out measuring tape across every sideline.

Ohio weather vs. happy grass

The hardest part of the job, Pearl said, is Ohio's unpredictable weather combined with constant foot traffic on living turf. He frames it as a balancing act: keeping the grass healthy while keeping athletes and families happy. His vision of a perfect field is simple: very green, sharp white lines and nice straight mowing stripes.

Asked what kind of coworker Linus would be if the robot had a personality, Pearl called him "very meticulous and definitely Type-A. Maybe a little annoying with his habits, but always hardworking and getting better every day."