tennis court dragging machine

1

ME30068 – GROUP DESIGN & BUSINESS PROJECT: GROUP REPORT

TENNIS COURT DRAGGING MACHINE

Group 1: Andrew Savage, Harry Davies, Hugh Porter, Luke Ray, Xianqi Yuan

Supervisor: Rod Valentine

ABSTRACT Artificial clay tennis courts require frequent maintenance to ensure the surface is

sufficient for playing. Players are asked to do this after every match by using a net and

dragging it over the court boundaries and the outer area. This is both time consuming

and can be strenuous for older or smaller players. Some players may not be willing to

do this job but may be willing to pay more for their club membership in order to avoid

dragging. This provides us with a business opportunity for a system that does this job

for members. This system can provide a high quality finish and can be more efficient

solution than manual labour, thus saving time. This report aims to present both a

technical and a business case to argue for having an automated tennis court dragging

machine.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract .................................................................................................................... 1

1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 4

1.1 Customer Need ................................................................................................ 4

1.2 Market Segmentation ....................................................................................... 4

1.3 Market Opportunity........................................................................................... 5

2 Technical ............................................................................................................... 6

2.1 Product design specification ............................................................................. 6

2.2 Product functions ............................................................................................. 7

2.3 Machine Subsystems Division .......................................................................... 8

2.4 Assembly ......................................................................................................... 9

2.5 Method of Operation and Operating sequence ................................................. 9

2.6 Maintenance .................................................................................................... 9

3 Commercial Strategy ........................................................................................... 10

3.1 The 4Ps of Marketing ..................................................................................... 10

3.2 Market Strategy .............................................................................................. 10

3.3 Pricing Strategy .............................................................................................. 11

3.4 Length of Venture .......................................................................................... 11

3.5 Market Size .................................................................................................... 11

3.6 Capital Investment and Profitability ................................................................ 11

3.7 Potential Market Expansion ............................................................................ 12

3.8 Conclusions ................................................................................................... 12

3.9 Solution Specification Table ........................................................................... 12

Appendices ............................................................................................................. 14

Appendix A - Questions to Lansdowne road tennis club manager .......................... 14

Appendix B - Product design specification .............................................................. 15

Appendix C - Morphological chart ........................................................................... 17

Appendix D - Concept Ideation ............................................................................... 18

Appendix E - Concept Evaluation............................................................................ 24

Appendix F - Control Schematics ............................................................................ 26

Appendix G - Method of Operation .......................................................................... 27

Appendix H - Operating sequence .......................................................................... 27

Appendix I - Intellectual Property ............................................................................ 28

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Appendix J - Market Segmentation and Identification.............................................. 28

Appendix K - SWOT analysis .................................................................................. 29

Appendix L - PEST analysis .................................................................................... 30

Appendix M - Porter’s Five Forces .......................................................................... 30

Appendix N - Ansoff’s Product Market Growth Strategy Matrix ............................... 31

Appendix O - Product Lifecycle ............................................................................... 32

Appendix P - Similar Products ................................................................................ 33

Appendix Q - Fault Tree Analysis ............................................................................ 34

Appendix R - Cashflow Statement .......................................................................... 35

Appendix S – Table of Courts in Different Countries ............................................... 36

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1 Introduction There are a growing number of artificial clay tennis courts

being installed across the UK. Artificial clay surfaces

require players to redistribute the particles across the

surface by dragging a net across the court to prolong their

useful life. This is a manual process and needs to be done

regularly, taking several minutes, and so detracts from the

game.

It was perceived that there may be a business case

for an automatic dragging machine to replace manual

dragging. This report details the business case and design of such a machine.

1.1 CUSTOMER NEED Artificial clay courts consist of a dense, Astroturf-like carpet

with a layer of sand-like particles approximately 30mm

thick. The carpet pile wears over time, typically needing

replacing after 5-8 years without regular dragging. [1]

Dragging prevents the carpet pile showing, preventing

excess friction to the surface and extending the life of the

court to 10-12 years. On top of the regular dragging by

players, a tractor must be used fortnightly to decompress

the sand and counter large-scale sand movements

towards the most used areas of play.

Dragging the court gives a more even surface and a better ball bounce. However it

takes time that could be spent playing tennis. Additionally it is a laborious, manual

process, so players would rather not have to do it.

1.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION The potential markets for the machine include

any club with artificial clay courts. These have

been organised by membership fee and modal

members’ age are shown in Figure 3. The

modal members’ age was used to segment the

markets because artificial clay tennis courts

give a less strenuous game, resulting in less

joint and muscle aches. [2] Furthermore tennis

is growing in popularity among the over 50 age

group, [3] so clubs popular with these age groups are

likely to install more artificial clay courts. A high membership fee will also be needed

to pay for the machine, so has also been used to segment the markets. For these

reasons the Leisure and Health Clubs and Private Members’ Clubs have been

selected as the target markets.

Figure 1 – Current dragging product

Figure 2 – Artificial clay carpet

Figure 3 – Market segmentation

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1.3 MARKET OPPORTUNITY The market opportunity is in the appeal to an artificial clay court owner or prospective

owner, seeking to reduce manual effort, increase dragged surface finish, reduce

dragging time taken and/or extend court life. The people this machine must appeal to

have been identified in Appendix J as tennis and health club members, who ultimately

decide club purchasing decisions.

Porter’s 5 Forces, PEST & SWOT analysis tools, shown in Appendices K, L and M

were used to examine the internal and external factors that will impact the marketability

and success of the product in the marketplace. The key takeaways from this were:

Intellectual property: There are no current IP patents governing clay dragging

machines. This initially offers low barriers to entry for the company, however

also benefits competition. As a new product, applications for any patentable

technology should be filed to create barriers to entry to competition.

Artificial clay court market growth: Due to their playing style and relative

ease of maintenance, artificial clay courts are rapidly growing in popularity.

Artificial clay courts are typically built as replacements for worn Astroturf courts.

This is not surprising since the marginal cost of replacing an Astroturf court with

artificial clay instead of Astroturf is low, and these clubs replacing Astroturf

courts have previously made similar size investments when initially installing

the Astroturf. As a Dragging Machine will be completely dependent on the

success of this surface, its market growth is crucial.

The rising popularity of tennis in the 50+ age group is significant. [4] From

market research at Lansdown Tennis, Squash & Croquet Club in Bath, it

became apparent that artificial clay courts are particularly popular with this

demographic. Additionally, this is the age range which show particular

resistance to the laborious activity of brushing courts. [2]

First mover advantage provides i) strong brand recognition, ii) loyal customers

& iii) more time to develop the product.

A large upfront capital investment will be required to develop this product.

The company’s financials are unknown and as such this may result in the

company having to raise capital.

Bargaining power of customers: Whilst the firm supplies directly to sports

shops and gyms, the end customer is members of tennis and leisure clubs.

These clubs are often “owned” by the members, who have the overall say in

club decisions. As such it is crucial to market to both the clubs and the

members.

New market opportunity: Launching a brand new product into a new market

segment has a high level of associated risk (See Appendix N for Ansoff’s

Matrix). This however offers a large opportunity to widen their customer base

and increase profitability in the long-term.

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2 TECHNICAL

2.1 PRODUCT DESIGN SPECIFICATION To clarify the demands of the problem statement [5], a product design specification

was created. The demands are below, and the full version is given in Appendix B.

Requirement Importance (W increases 1-3)

Reference

Product description

Redistribute particles to the current standard D Project brief

Redistribute particles better than the current standard

D Project brief

Accommodate court sizes between 60' x 120' and 70' x 130'

D [6]

Suitable for artificial clay court materials D Project brief

Self-powered, battery/mechanical D Project brief

Post and nets to remain in place D Project brief

Performance

Cover the court in 5 minutes D Team

Fully autonomous D Project brief

Maintain even level of particles across the surface

D Project brief

Does not over compact the particles (pressure) D Project brief

Physical characteristics

Small enough to remain on court D Project brief

Must split into components of max weight 35kg D Team

Environment

To be used outdoors D Project brief

Resist court particles D Team

Temperature range -10°C - 35°C D Team

Humidity up to 100% D Team

Resist snow/frost D Team

Safety, legal and other factors

Not obstructive/trip hazard D Team

Comply with noise standards D [7]

Must not infringe on any patents D Team

Product life of 5 years D Team

Table 1 – Design Specification

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2.2 PRODUCT FUNCTIONS A morphological approach was used, where the problem was split into several

functions, which are described in the table below. Several solutions for each function

were brainstormed and can be seen in the morphological chart in Appendix C. These

were combined to make five full concepts, which were ranked as detailed in Appendix

D. The highest ranked concept was then further developed, giving the chosen

solutions in the following table.

Function Description Chosen solution

Movement The machine needs to move and turn to cover the court, which will vary in size.

A court wide machine with wheels. This means only small turns are needed, simplifying the design.

Route The machine needs some way to know where it is on the court, so that it knows the whole court has been covered and knows where to return to

An infrared laser pointing at one post of the court.

Energy storage

The machine is to be used outside where mains power may not be available. Therefore the machine must store the energy it needs to power itself.

Lawnmower rechargeable battery.

Power input The energy storage device will need to be recharged.

Off the shelf lawnmower battery recharger.

Redistributing particles

The purpose of the machine is to replace the net which is dragged by players. The machine must remove inconsistencies in the sand like surface to give a flat finish.

Flat brushes to even the surface, coupled with a rotating, Archimedes screw shaped brush.

Storage The machine is expected to remain on the court, so will need protection from impacts/weather.

Base station with a garage door style opening.

Dealing with obstacles

The machine must be able to detect obstacles and prevent collisions to prevent damage to itself and people.

Four cameras, each installed at the top corners of each side.

Table 2 – Product Functions

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In addition to the solutions for the core functions above, the final design has

additional functions, shown in the final concept below:

2.3 MACHINE SUBSYSTEMS DIVISION The machine was divided into five subsystems, for each of the group members to

concentrate on. It was realised that the main issue with the design feasibility was the

thickness of the machine, as this would make it obstruct play. The individual detailed

subassemblies were designed with the objective of minimising the thickness, and

culminated in the following design decisions:

Chassis and systems integration (H. Porter) - The chassis is made up of aluminium

sheet sections in a box shape without a top or base, with securing struts. Drivetrain

and brush components are secured using brackets bolted to this.

Powertrain (A. Savage) - Separate electric motors were used for each of the four

rotating brushes and for each of the two powered wheels. The machine will accelerate

to full speed within 5 seconds and the wheels can be controlled independently to turn

the machine.

Brush system (X. Yuan) - Two types of brushes are used to redistribute the sand,

stationary brushes to give an even surface and four rotating Archimedes’ screw

shaped brushes to push the sand towards the centre. The rotating brush was split into

four sections to prevent the brush sagging as a single brush was very long.

Sensors and guidance system (L. Ray) - A sensor system was required in order to

detect obstacles. The machine had four cameras, at the top corners of each side of

the machine. These cameras detect obstacles and stop the machine if necessary. For

the guidance system an infrared sensor was used. It is pointed to the posts of the

court; if the beam moves out of position then the sensor knows the machine is out of

line and will realign the wheels accordingly.

Figure 1 – Final Concept

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Base station (H. Davis) - The base station uses a garage door-like mechanism to

open the door using small electromagnets. Durable HDPE is used to protect the

machine and a storage area which protects players’ belongings from the elements.

2.4 ASSEMBLY The machine is to be assembled in two halves in a factory, allowing it to be transported

to the court. The two halves can then be bolted together on court. Since a tractor is

used to maintain the artificial courts, it has been assumed that there is sufficient access

for the two halves.

2.5 METHOD OF OPERATION AND OPERATING SEQUENCE The machine has been designed to be simple to operate with just a button press, as

shown in the method of operation in Appendix G. The operating sequence from the

machine’s point of view is given in Appendix H.

2.6 MAINTENANCE The brushes will need to be cleaned and eventually changed when they get worn out;

this is to maintain the good surface finish produced by the machine. It will also be

ensured that the solar panels are clean so that all the available sunlight will be

absorbed. The torsional spring in the opening door will need to be changed once every

two years as it has a life of 15,000 cycles. Sealed bearings have been selected to

minimise maintenance. The camera lens will also need to be cleaned if there is any

dust on it to ensure maximum visibility; the sensor lens will also need to be cleaned.

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3 COMMERCIAL STRATEGY

3.1 THE 4PS OF MARKETING From undertaking product lifecycle analysis, shown in Appendix O, it is clear that,

whilst the tennis court market is mature and artificial clay courts and in growth, an

autonomous clay court dragging machine is a completely new undertaking in the

introductory phase. The 4Ps of marketing were developed based on this:

Product: Initially the two models will be launched, a basic model and one with solar

panels. In the future when demand is proven, further customisation, such as

customising the product with logos or extensions to cover more of the run off areas,

can be added.

Price: Risk takers who are keen to be the first to get their hands on the new technology

will pay a premium and thus the price should be set high initially (whilst applying a

“discount”). Later variable pricing can be introduced.

Place: As the first to enter this market, clubs which First mover advantage will come

into play here, where exclusivity can be used to create barriers to entry. The product

is large and thus transportation will be difficult. As such the internet would be an ideal

platform. Scaled models could be used to demonstrate and sales representatives

should physically travel to stores and clubs to spread awareness of the new product

offering.

Promotion: Being an introductory product offering, advertising and promotion should

be very high at first to build awareness. Online advertising, demonstrations and face-

to-face meetings should be used to facilitate this.

3.2 MARKET STRATEGY The market strategy was developed using the 4Ps above and consists of the following

incentives:

First user discount: As the product will be the first of its kind, first time buyers will

tend to be risk takers, relying on the reputation of the company. As a result a discount

or guarantee will need to be offered for such a costly purchase to provide peace of

mind to the purchaser.

Trial period & leasing scheme: Demonstrations of the Court Dragging Machine could

be given to prospective clients along with the option of a trial period for a single

machine. Additionally a rental scheme could be offered allowing clubs to initially rent,

with the option to buy the machine at a reduced price in the future. This will lead to

less resistance from clients who may be apprehensive of making such a large

investment in a new product.

Multiple price strategies: Various pricing options could be given to make the product

as appealing as possible to the client. As this is sold to a variety of different clubs, their

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needs and demands will vary. As such, offering a variety of specifications would lead

to improved profitability. Options for this would include branding/advertising on the

door flap, custom colour designs (HDPE is very easy to colour) or offering a “green”

option with the top of the box being covered in solar panels to power the system.

3.3 PRICING STRATEGY The reasons for the market opportunity which gave a financial benefit to a club were

used to calculate the machine price. The machine will reduce the amount of time

dragging the court from 4 minutes each hour to 30 seconds, allowing the court to be

used 6% more each hour. Furthermore, since the machine is quick and easy to use,

players who may not usually drag the court are expected to use the machine after

each game. This, combined with the superior finish that the machine gives over the

manual method, are predicted to increase the court life by 3 years, as dragging

increases the court life by 4-5 years. [1] This means the court can be used for 33%

more time, and combines with the 6% to give 39% more value to the court investment.

Based on the market research, detailed in Appendix A, an artificial clay court costs

£25,000 each to install, and making these benefits worth £9800.

Although these assumptions can be taken as generous, they do not include the difficult

to quantify benefits of removing the manual process, making it more enjoyable to play

tennis. For these reasons, the selling price of two machines has been set as £9000,

so £4500 each.

3.4 LENGTH OF VENTURE A venture length of three years was chosen for the design. This gives enough time for

innovation and for the system to be upgraded based on new customer needs. The

updated design can be released onto the market and will greatly increase sales. There

are currently no IPs in the market so it would be key to obtain one for our product, in

order to block potential competitors. By being up to date with customer needs and

wants, new upgrades can be released quickly and will secure our market position.

3.5 MARKET SIZE The UK currently has 23,000 tennis courts of which 21,000 are outdoor. [8] These are

shared between 3,500 clubs giving an average of 6 outdoor courts per club. With the

average life cycle of a tennis court being 17 years [9] and an estimated 25% of worn

outdoor synthetic courts being replaced with artificial clay [10]. Using the assumption

that around 20% of outdoor courts are synthetic this gives an average of 62 artificial

clay courts/year.

It is predicted that the company can supply 15%, 30% and 30% of new installations in

the first, second and third years of launch. Two machines are required per court, giving

sales of 20, 38 and 38 units in each year.

3.6 CAPITAL INVESTMENT AND PROFITABILITY

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Since the company already manufactures and sells goods to sports shops and gyms,

it has been assumed that the existing machinery and warehousing is suitable and

available for this product. Overheads have been assumed at 20% of the material and

manufacturing costs. This gives a unit profit of £96,960, as shown in Table 7.

Given the number of assumptions made in forecasting profit margin and sales, a

simplified cashflow statement was deemed suitable and is given in Appendix R.

3.7 POTENTIAL MARKET EXPANSION Currently the product is set to be sold solely in the UK. If the product is popular with

clubs nationwide, plans will be implemented to sell the machine abroad (see Appendix

S). [7] Although the Grand Slam tournaments do not use artificial clay courts, many

amateur tournaments do use courts with artificial clay. [10] This would be a good

market to expand into as these matches will want an even surface so will need

dragging even more regularly than at clubs. This would also give good exposure for

the product. A drawback of shipping abroad would be the costs associated with the

size of the machine and import taxes. The machine would need to be sold at a much

higher price to cover these costs, which tennis clubs may not be willing to pay.

The machine could also be expanded into other sports which utilise an artificial clay

surface. Not many well-known sports use artificial clay at the moment however in the

future this may be a possibility. The machine can be implemented to accommodate

for a different sized court or potentially for different surfaces by using a different brush.

3.8 CONCLUSIONS A tennis court dragging machine was developed to meet the needs of clubs with

artificial clay courts. The key features of the product are summarised in the Solution

Specification below. A marketing strategy has been devised to maximise sales and is

expected to produce profits of £96,960 after three years.

3.9 SOLUTION SPECIFICATION TABLE

System Performance

Chassis and systems integration

Drags the entire court in two simple motions, without having the need to turn around.

Powertrain Powerful motors accelerate the machine to top speed in less than 5 seconds.

Brushing mechanism Brushes even out clay surface to a superb finish.

Sensors and guidance system

Infrared sensor detects the alignment of the machine. Motion sensing cameras automatically stop the machine if necessary.

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Base station Automatically charges machine and also convenient storage for protection from the elements.

Automation The machine operates at the push of a button.

Dragging Speed The machine moves at a speed of 1.5 m/s.

Size and Weight The main machine has dimensions of 380mm x 13,100mm x 420mm and the base station is 451mm x 13,621mm x 571mm. The machine weighs 147.3kg.

Price The machine will cost £4500 for each half.

Table 3 – Solution Specification Table

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APPENDICES

APPENDIX A - QUESTIONS TO LANSDOWN TENNIS CLUB MANAGER

What are the main issues with dragging? Not had any issues. Might be different come summer as the wetness means sand isn't blowing away.

How long does it take to drag the courts? Each court has two brushes, so it takes around 3-4 minutes, there's a YouTube video to show how

Is dragging always done? Almost always, with many members dragging before, after and during. A tractor is used once a week

How does dragging increase the lifespan/quality of the court? Court lasts 5-8 years without dragging, 10-12 years if dragged. Mustn't have pile on show to prevent wear. What do you think about the future of artificial clay courts? Believes Astroturf courts in the club will be replaced with clay courts as the clay courts are much more used than the Astroturf. Clay courts give some sliding, slower bounce, longer rallies which means more enjoyable games and less aching joints.

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APPENDIX B - PRODUCT DESIGN SPECIFICATION

Requirement Importance (W increases 1-3)

Reference

Product description

Redistribute particles to the current standard

D Project brief

Redistribute particles better than the current standard

D Project brief

Accommodate court sizes between 60' x 120' and 70' x 130'

D http://www.doittennis.com/buyers-guide/tennis-court-dimensions

Suitable for artificial clay court materials

D Project brief

Self-powered, battery/mechanical D Project brief

Post and nets to remain in place D Project brief

Performance

Cover the court in 5 minutes D Team

Cover the court in 1 minutes W-3 Team

Cover the court in 30 seconds W-2 Team

Cover run-off area in addition to above

W-3 Team

Fully autonomous D Project brief

Easy to operate W-3 Project brief

Return to storage location after dragging

W-2

Maintain even level of particles across the surface

D Project brief

Does not over compact the particles (pressure)

D Project brief

Physical characteristics

Small enough to remain on court D Project brief

Must split into components of max weight 35kg

Team

Economic factors

Target manufacturing cost £3000 D Team

Batch size 200 units over 3 years D Team

Environment

To be used outdoors D Project brief

http://www.doittennis.com/buyers-guide/tennis-court-dimensions

http://www.doittennis.com/buyers-guide/tennis-court-dimensions

16

Resist court particles D Team

Temperature range -10°C - 35°C D Team

Humidity up to 100% D Team

Resist snow/frost D Team

Work in light snow/frost W-2 Team

Resist impacts from tennis balls and people

W-3 Team

Safety

Not obstructive/trip hazard D Team

Comply with noise standards D EU Physical Agents (Noise) Directive 2003/10/EC

Legal

Must not infringe any patents D Team

Other factors

Product life of 13 years D Team

Mean time to repair 2 years W-3 Team

Mean time to failure 7 years W-3 Team

Table 4 – Full Design Specification

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APPENDIX C - MORPHOLOGICAL CHART The functions of the product were listed and methods of completing each function were brainstormed.

The various solutions are shown in the morphological chart. Full concepts were created by tracing paths

through the chart as described in Appendix D.

Mo

ve

me

nt

wheels

tracks flying

legs

rails

Rou

te

line detection

GPS

reference point (net post) camera

En

erg

y

sto

rag

e

battery

mechanical

hybrid

Po

wer

inp

ut

mains

solar

clockwork disposable battery

rechargeable battery

Red

istr

ibu

tin

g p

art

icle

s

Brush

net

rake

blower

vacuum scraper rotating brush

rotating brush archenemies screw

Sto

rag

e

box/hut cover

locked

docking station

Dea

ling

with

ob

sta

cle

s

avoid remove halt ignore

Figure 2 – Morphological Chart

18

APPENDIX D - CONCEPT IDEATION Each group member took a path through the morphological chart in Appendix B and turned it into a concept.

The following full concepts were created, using the majority of the concepts in the morphological chart

Concept

Function

Movement Route Energy Storage Power Input

Redistributing Particles Storage

Dealing with Obstacles

Simple Wheels Reference

point Hybrid Rechargeable

battery Rake and rotating

brush Locks Halts

Square Wheels Line detection Battery Rechargeable

battery Brush Cover Avoids

Flying Flying Camera Battery Rechargeable

battery Net Docking station Avoids

Expensive Tracks Reference

point Battery Rechargeable

battery Brush and vacuum Docking station Halts

Court wide Wheels

Rope route system Battery

Rechargeable battery Brush Hut Halts

Table 5 – Concept Ideation

19

Flying Concept

Figure 3 – Flying Concept

21

Square Concept

Figure 5 – Square Concept

22

Figure 6 – Advanced Concept

23

Waterproof Battery Compartment: Rubberised, sealed compartment where flat battery can be removed and replaced with a freshly charged one. Can also

be charged wirelessly by magnetic field (similar to electric toothbrushes) by driving into docking station. Snaps into place (inspiration from rugged &

waterproof GoPro camera)

Audio & Visual Alarms & Pressure Impact Sensor Strip: When Core of rotating brush comes into contact with an obstacle, pressure sensors will activate

siren and flashing light to notify user. Robot will stop.

Rotating Brush: Used to evenly redistribute rubber particles – similar to a hoover brush Can be turned by friction or with a motor

Reference Point Sensor: Located on the underside of the robot – photo sensor to locate the reference point marked on the court

Rugged Wheels/Tyres: Rubberised and hard wearing to maintain grip in wet weather and not slip on the court. Offers suitable ground clearance

Raking Brush & Spring: Raking brush used to smooth out particles and remove tyre tracks behind robot. Similar to raking a bunker. Spring used to apply

downward, even force/pressure to brush to maintain smooth surface.

Simple concept

Figure 7 – Simple Concept

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APPENDIX E - CONCEPT EVALUATION To determine which of the concepts was most suitable, multiple criteria decision

analysis (MCDA) was used. This objectively ranks concepts against chosen criteria.

The seven standard criteria were defined for the product as follows:

Usability - Simple to operate, Automatic and able to handle varying court sizes.

Quality - Resistance to weather and impacts

Maintainability - Ease and frequency of performing maintenance

Safety - Machine must comply with noise regulations and not be a trip hazard

Durability - Expected lifetime

Manufacturability - Manufacturing cost

Affordability - Market value

Marketability - Appeal to high end clubs/aging clubs

Additionally a storage criteria was used since this was a key aspect of the machine’s

feasibility and was not covered in the other criteria.

Each group member rated how well the concepts would meet the various criteria from

1 (very poorly) to 5 (very well). The average values were taken and multiplied by a

weighting, as shown in the figure below. The weightings are relative and allow the

group to place more importance on critical criteria.

The following table shows that the court wide system was the most feasible solution,

and was selected for further development.

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Average for concept Weighted Average for concept

Criteria Weighting Simple Square Expensive Flying Court wide Simple Square Expensive Flying Court wide

usability 8 3.5 3.5 4 4.5 3.75 28 28 32 36 30

storability 7 4.25 1.5 4.25 3.5 1.25 29.75 10.5 29.75 24.5 8.75

quality 8 3.75 3.25 3.75 1.5 3.75 30 26 30 12 30

maintainability 7 3 2.75 2 2 3.25 21 19.25 14 14 22.75

safety 8 2.5 2.5 2.5 3.5 3 20 20 20 28 24

durability 5 3 3 3 2.25 3.5 15 15 15 11.25 17.5

manufacturability 5 2.5 3 1.25 2.25 4 12.5 15 6.25 11.25 20

affordability 5 3.25 3.25 3 3.5 4 16.25 16.25 15 17.5 20

marketability 7 3.25 3.5 3.5 4 3.75 22.75 24.5 24.5 28 26.25

Total 195.25 174.5 186.5 182.5 199.25

Proportion 65.1% 58.2% 62.2% 60.8% 66.4%

Table 6 – Concept Weightings

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APPENDIX F - CONTROL SCHEMATICS

The green boxes represent the door mechanism and activation of the machine.

The blue boxes represent the obstacle detection system.

The orange boxes represent the guidance system.

Figure 8 – Control Scheme

27

APPENDIX G - METHOD OF OPERATION 1. Ensure there are no people or obstacles on the court in the machine’s path.

2. Push button on the base station.

3. The machine will automatically start and the door will open.

4. The machine will travel towards the net, redistributing the artificial clay particles

and leaving an even surface in its wake.

5. Once the machine has reached the tennis court net it will begin to reverse and

drag the court a second time.

6. The machine returns to the storage box and will automatically close the door

once it is inside.

7. The solar panels on the outside of the box will recharge the machine’s battery.

APPENDIX H - OPERATING SEQUENCE 1. Button on box is pressed.

2. Base station door opens.

3. Power is supplied to the wheels and brush. Machine starts moving towards net.

4. The rotating Archimedes screw brush redistributes particles across the court

evenly, so that particles are moved back towards the middle. The stationary

brushes give the court an even surface.

5. The cameras on the machine will detect obstacles on the machine’s route,

stopping the machine before a collision occurs.

6. The infrared sensor will detect the alignment of the machine in relation to the

tennis court posts and the wheels will be readjusted if the machine starts to go

off track.

7. Once the machine has reached the tennis court net the electrical polarity will

be swapped, causing the wheels to reverse and the machine to go back the

same way it came.

8. The machine returns to the base station and as it returns a button is pushed in

the base station which closes the door.

9. The solar panels on the outside of the base station recharge the machine’s

battery whilst inside.

28

APPENDIX I - INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY The escapement patent database yielded no similar machines for the following

searches: artificial clay tennis, synthetic clay tennis, clay tennis sand

Given that the market is small and internet searches did also not show any other

products that drag the court, it was believed that the machine was not infringing on

any intellectual property rights.

APPENDIX J - MARKET SEGMENTATION AND IDENTIFICATION The potential markets for the machine include any club with artificial clay courts. These

have been organised by membership fee and modal members’ age are shown in

Figure 3. The modal members’ age was used to segment the markets because

artificial clay tennis courts give a less strenuous game, resulting in less joint and

muscle aches. [2] Furthermore tennis is growing in popularity among the over 50 age

group, [3] so clubs popular with these age are likely to install more artificial clay courts.

A high membership fee will also be needed to pay for the machine, so has also been

used to segment the markets. For these reasons the Leisure and Health Clubs and

Private Members’ Clubs have been selected as the target markets.

In Private Members’ clubs the club members have the final decision as to whether to

invest in a machine as such decisions are made by member vote. Although members

do not have such explicit control in Health and Leisure clubs, they still influence the

Figure 3 – Market Segmentation

29

club’s purchasing decisions as they are likely to move to rival clubs if they have more

desirable facilities.

Therefore to sell the machine to sports shops and gyms, the company must market

the machine to club members and tennis clubs, so that they demand the machine from

sport shops and gyms. This is visualised in the image below, with the demand flows

in yellow and marketing in blue. The company only needs to make sports shops and

gyms aware of the product, so this is shown dotted.

APPENDIX K - SWOT ANALYSIS

Figure 9 – Sales Flow Chart

Figure 10 – SWOT Analysis

30

APPENDIX L - PEST ANALYSIS

APPENDIX M - PORTER’S FIVE FORCES

Figure 11 – PEST Analysis

Figure 12 – Porter’s Five Forces

31

APPENDIX N - ANSOFF’S PRODUCT MARKET GROWTH STRATEGY

MATRIX

Figure 13 – Ansoff’s Matrix

32

APPENDIX O - PRODUCT LIFECYCLE

Figure 14 – Product Lifecycle Graph

33

APPENDIX P - SIMILAR PRODUCTS Market research was done for a variety of similar products; firstly a Zamboni (ice

resurfacing machine) was researched. This process was done by dragging a net (or a

cloth) which is attached to a pole along the ice to resurface it. [11] Currently a net is

used on most clay tennis courts and this is very similar to how a Zamboni operates.

The next reviewed product was the Solar Breeze Pool Cleaner. It is a device which

floats on the water and sucks in debris as it moves using a micro filter; water comes

out of the back of the device. The debris can then be removed like a vacuum cleaner

bag. The robot also has wheels which are used to pivot along the pool wall. [12] This

device is fully autonomous as it automatically knows where to go on the water surface

and when to come out of the water to recharge.

Another similar product is the fully autonomous John Deere automatic lawnmower. Its

range of mobility is restricted by a pre-installed wire which goes around the perimeter

of the garden. It pushes small obstacles out of the way and ignores large ones. [13]

Its mobility is similar to the Solar Breeze in which it knows when it needs to recharge

and knows where it has not cut before.

Another researched machine was the LG HomBot Vacuum Cleaner. It has two

cameras where one scans the floor for mobility and the upper camera scans the ceiling

for navigation. It is designed to only clean where it has not cleaned before and can be

left to hoover for the whole day and will automatically return to charge like the John

Deere. It uses a main brush and also a fan for gathering dirt, also utilising a mop for

finishing. [14] This is very similar to our machine as it utilises a brush and is fully

autonomous.

The most similar product is one which is currently used by many tennis clubs, the

Venus Terrarosa. It is operated manually and is rolled over the court; the method of

movement is the same as a net (which is also currently used). The Venus have blades

which can be set at an exact depth of clay to be removed. The gathered clay is then

broken up and recycled or evenly spread over the court. [15] The main drawback is

that it is not autonomous; it is also expensive at £4260 and weighs 120kg which can

make it difficult for people to operate. [16]

34

APPENDIX Q - FAULT TREE ANALYSIS

Sensor failure:

Laser sensor failure: The machine will go slightly towards or away from the net.

Camera Failure: The machine will not react to obstacles in front or at the back of its

body. Keeping moving may cause collapse failure of the chassis or the brushes.

Figure 15 – Fault Tree Analysis

35

APPENDIX R - CASHFLOW STATEMENT

Cashflow Statement at End of Year 1

Cash receipts from customers £90,000

Cash paid to suppliers and manufacturers and labour costs (51,800)

Overhead cost (18,000)

Net increase in cash

20,200

Cash, beginning of year

0

Cash, end of year

20,200



Cash paid to suppliers and manufacturers and labour costs (98,420)



38,380


20,200

Cash, end of year

58,580



Cash paid to suppliers and Manufacturers and labour costs (98,420)



38,380


58,580

Cash, end of year

£96,960

Table 7 – Cashflow Statement

36

APPENDIX S – TABLE OF COURTS IN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES

Population Players* Clubs Courts Indoor Coaches

USA 313.9m 13.2m 14,226 99,014 11,182 25,000

Germany 81.8m 4m 9,584 48,056 4,898 20,000

France 65.4m 4.1m 8,217 32,387 8,554 9,291

GB&NI 64.3m 4.4m** 2,740 21,506 1,528 15,000***

Italy 60.7m 3.2m 3,000 9,600 1,800 5,000

Spain 47.3m 4.8m 1,226 5,676 57 16,500

Australia 22.3m 2.2m 2,980 15,785 167 1,818

Table 8 – International Tennis Court Data

37

REFERENCES

[1] “QUESTIONS TO LANSDOWN TENNIS CLUB MANAGER", Lansdown Tennis Club, 2016.

[2] R. Valentine, "Tennis Court Dragging Machine Q&A", University of Bath, 2016.

[3] "Sport England: Understanding variations in sports participation", 2010. [Online]. Available: https://www.sportengland.org/media/112596/tennis-case-study-1-.pdf. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[4] Department of Mechanical Engineering, "GROUP DESIGN & BUSINESS PROJECT", University of bath, 2016.

[5] "Tennis Court Dimensions - Buyer's Guides DoItTennis", Do It Tennis, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.doittennis.com/buyers-guide/tennis-court-dimensions. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[6] "Directive 2003/10/EC - noise - Safety and health at work - EU-OSHA", Osha.europa.eu, 2003. [Online]. Available: https://osha.europa.eu/en/legislation/directives/82. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[7] D. Ornstein, "Wimbledon 2013: The state of grassroots & elite tennis in Britain", BBC Sport, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/22912754. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[8] "Cost and Life Cycle – Courts and Surfaces - Learn - Tennis Australia", Tennis Australia, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.tennis.com.au/learn/courts-and-surfaces/cost-and-life-cycle. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[9] "tiauk.org | The Business of Tennis", Tiauk.org, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.tiauk.org/page.asp?node=214&. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[10] "Tennis Services UK Limited", Tennisuk.net, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.tennisuk.net/TEMS/TourDetail.aspx?tid=307. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[11] "My home made ice resurfacer (zamboni)", YouTube, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=em0uaBWba709. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[12] "Solar Breeze: The Robotic Solar-Powered Pool Cleaner Review", YouTube, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzWfClbOnIc. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[13] "John Deere Tango robot lawnmower- Which? first look", YouTube, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MQ-7gnw5co. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[14] "LG - LrV5900 Hom-Bot Robot Vacuum Cleaner", YouTube, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhIP_1CvrSk. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[15] "tennis clay court maintenance", Venus-terrarossa.it, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.venus-terrarossa.it/en-clay-court-maintenance.html. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

[16] "Venus Terrarossa", Bit.ly, 2016. [Online]. Available: http://bit.ly/1QxC6G0. [Accessed: 07- Mar- 2016].

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