{"id":391862,"date":"2026-01-04T21:56:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/391862\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T21:56:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T21:56:30","slug":"ai-avatar-matilda-serving-customers-at-seven-mile-beach-store","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/391862\/","title":{"rendered":"AI avatar \u2018Matilda\u2019 serving customers at Seven Mile Beach Store"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Hobart takeaway shop has deployed an AI-powered \u201cmetahuman\u201d to serve customers, with the technology\u2019s creators claiming it could help small businesses survive Tasmania\u2019s tough winter trading periods.<\/p>\n

Dr Mohammad Mustanir Rahman recently introduced \u201cMatilda\u201d at the Seven Mile Beach Store, having taken over the business in December 2024.<\/p>\n

The virtual assistant can take orders, provide tourist information and analyse sales data.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the winter, we struggled a lot because usually we open around 13 hours per day, but it\u2019s very difficult for me as a business owner to keep two employees at a time,\u201d Rahman told Pulse.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Seven Mile Beach store is trailing the AI technology. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

The AI receptionist is integrated with the store\u2019s point-of-sale system and will soon be able to speak multiple languages including Chinese, Bengali and Hindi.<\/p>\n

Dr Rahman, who completed his PhD in AI at the University of Tasmania, said the technology costs around $1,000 annually compared to employing a full-time staff member at $50,000 to $60,000.<\/p>\n

\"\"Store manager Mukta Rhaman demonstrates the technology. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Matilda, she will work 24 hours, 365 days,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The project is being developed by startup OmniEdge IT Solutions, co-founded by Dr Rahman alongside researchers Dr Mujibur and Dr Azmain Muhtasim Mir.<\/p>\n

Dr Mir, an anthropologist, said the technology was designed specifically for regional businesses struggling during off-peak periods.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about winter, this is a very different scenario and this is the same thing in Queenstown, in Georgetown,\u201d Mir said.<\/p>\n

\"\"A regular customer asks Matilda to repeat her usual order each morning. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

\u201cBusinesses are shut down and closed and they might like to have someone to assist them but the reality is you cannot pay someone full-time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The team claims both younger and older customers are adapting to the technology.<\/p>\n

One regular customer reportedly asks Matilda to repeat her usual order each morning before walking on the beach.<\/p>\n

Mir said the system learns from daily interactions and could be deployed in hotels, medical centres and migrant resource centres.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Seven Mile Beach store is trailing the AI technology. Image \/ Pulse<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has got many potentials,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about hotel chain accommodation systems, if you are arriving in the middle of the night and you want to check in, it\u2019s just helping everyone and making things easy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The developers acknowledge the current prototype has response lag issues they\u2019re working to resolve.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re seeking government support and investment to expand the model across Tasmania, proposing a pilot program to support small businesses during off-peak trading periods.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Hobart takeaway shop has deployed an AI-powered \u201cmetahuman\u201d to serve customers, with the technology\u2019s creators claiming it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":391863,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[256,254,255,64,63,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-391862","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-artificial-intelligence","8":"tag-ai","9":"tag-artificial-intelligence","10":"tag-artificialintelligence","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391862\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391863"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}