A new super hero at Sunshine Coast Stadium
He can scale heights others can’t, sense danger before it arrives and cut the competition down to size.. His creators call him L400i Deluxe but at Sunshine Coast Stadium he’s known as “Batman”!
He can scale heights others can’t, sense danger before it arrives and cut the competition down to size.. His creators call him L400i Deluxe but at Sunshine Coast Stadium he’s known as “Batman”!
Just like his superhero namesake, “Batman” has come to the rescue.
He’s a robotic, autonomous mower hired to maintain lawn and order on the stadium’s large spectator slopes.
Venue manager Simon Ball said the steepness of the slopes meant regular ride-on mowers had to be reconsidered due to concerns over safety. But with “Batman” on board, cutting it fine was no longer a problem.
“The three large grass banked areas on the eastern, northern and southern sides of Sunshine Coast Stadium had traditionally been mowed by our ground staff using a large ride-on mower. After a couple of incidents where the mowers had trouble operating on these steep mounds, we decided to investigate safer alternatives.” Mr Ball said.
“We’re currently trialling the autonomous mower, which is not only much safer but also requires no fuel and runs on about one-third the operating cost of a traditional ride-on mower.
“It is battery operated and can be activated via an iPhone from anywhere in the world. It is intuitive and programed to run within defined areas and enables our ground staff to focus on other important tasks at the stadium.”
Economic Development Portfolio Councillor Stephen Robinson said the autonomous mower trial highlighted Sunshine Coast Council’s commitment to creating a healthy, smart and creative region.
“This is another great example of smart technology which council has deployed across our region and will continue to do so as part of our Smart City Framework and Smart City Implementation Program,” Cr Robinson said.
“Smart City solutions have already been implemented in key locations like the new Maroochydore City Centre, the Oceanside Health Hub, the Caloundra Central Business District and the new Aura, Palmwoods and Landsborough developments.
“Council continues to test technologies in our Smart Centre at Bulcock Street and our region is recognised as one of only four in Australia on the world’s Smart 21 communities for four of the past five years.”
Council also recently received the Municipal Association of Victoria Smart City Achievement of the Year Award for its development of a 3D visualisation tool which can actively engage with the community on planning and development issues.
For more information about council’s Smart City Program and its use of smart technologies, click here.