Meet Stevie: The robot changing how products get onto the internet, right from Bosch

With the rise of agentic shopping, whereby AI tools find, compare and make online purchases on behalf of customers, the quality of product data is critical. Whereas in the past, the process of creating digital product libraries was time-consuming, costly and unreliable, MMAPT has changed that.

MMAPT is a tech scale-up that’s in the business of creating digital product libraries with the help of their trusty robot, Stevie. Named after co-founder Tom Mark’s daughter and a nod to Stevie Nicks, Stevie the robot collects imagery and data, including still photos, 360-degree videos, label information, weights and measurements, eliminating the manual labour involved in traditional photo shoots, post-production processes and product data uploads.

From there, MMPAT is able to present a “very neat” data file to customers, which can be used on websites, socials or in print. In simple terms, Stevie converts physical products into machine-readable digital assets that AI can understand.

“It’s a patented technology in both the US and Australia,” explains Andrew Foote, MMAPT’s Chief Strategy Officer and an investor in the business. “The patent covers the entire workflow, from the robotics hardware that we use, right through to the cloud that we’ve built, which then handles all the data.”

Bosch originally helped build Stevie, and now MMAPT is back on the Bosch campus. In June, MMAPT moved from their previous home at Port Melbourne to the Clayton campus. Mr Foote says MMAPT has maintained a close relationship with Bosch over the years, and when the opportunity came up to lease a space at Clayton, they jumped on it.

“We want to be seen as a technology company, not a photographic studio; people can get a bit confused about that,” says Mr Foote. “Not only will we be close to the people we hope will be building our next generation robots, but it’s the right environment for us to be seen as a tech business. The opportunity to be on the Bosch campus is really terrific for our brand.”

Mr Foote says the MMAPT team were enjoying their new digs and mingling with various divisions of Bosch, from the facilities crew to the Bosch Australia Manufacturing Solutions (BAMS) team. “It’s great. We love it. The Bosch team have been fantastic. They’ve made us feel very welcome and very much part of the Bosch family.”

Earlier this year, MMAPT signed a three-year deal with Bunnings that sees them shooting hundreds of products a week for the retail giant. They’ve had notable projects with the South Australian Wine Industry Association and other national clients, and they’re also exploring opportunities to assist Bosch with its digital assets in future.

So, where to next for MMAPT?

Mr Foote says MMAPT is looking to build their next generation of robot, hopefully with Bosch’s help. Currently, customers’ products travel to Stevie for the data to be captured, but the next generation reverses that process. MMAPT wants to ship the robot to customer.

“It’s just a hell of a lot easier doing it that way for supply chain purposes, not having to ship thousands and thousands of products all over the place,” explains Mr Foote. “That’s in Australia, but we have ambition across the journey to look at America and European markets reasonably quickly as well. It’s an exciting time for us.”