Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to the most common questions about PhotoRobot Academy — what it is, who it’s for, how certification works, what it costs, and how to get started.

About PhotoRobot Academy

What is PhotoRobot Academy?

PhotoRobot Academy is the official training and certification system for the PhotoRobot ecosystem — robotic 360° product photography (PhotoRobot Controls software), cloud hosting and viewer (PhotoRobot Cloud), and integration with ERP / PIM / DAM systems. PhotoRobot has been building this technology since 2004; the Academy distils that expertise into role-based learning paths and verifiable certifications.

Who is PhotoRobot Academy for?

Three primary audiences:

• Operators — studio photographers and production staff who run PhotoRobot equipment day-to-day
• Studio managers — own the workflow design, quality discipline, and customer deliverables
• Integrators — software engineers wiring PhotoRobot into ERP, PIM, DAM, and e-commerce platforms via API and webhooks
• Network Specialists — studio network architecture, troubleshooting, multi-site networks
• Hardware Specialists — equipment anatomy, installation handover verification, maintenance
• Certified Instructors — Academy training delivery (CI for operational delivery, CD for governance)
• Specialty practitioners — OCR, 3D Modeling, Medical Photography, Virtual Catwalk, Carpet (stack on top of a foundational cert)

What certification tracks are available?

Eleven tracks are currently live with full cert + 2-year refresh lifecycle.

Foundational (6, role-based):

• Operator Standard — entry-level, broadest. Covers capture, edit, export. 13 modules.
• Studio Manager Essentials — workflow design + customer ownership + quality discipline. 13 modules.
• Network Specialist Essentials — studio network architecture + troubleshooting + multi-site. 6 modules.
• Hardware Specialist Essentials — equipment anatomy + installation + maintenance. 7 modules.
• Integrator Essentials — API, webhooks, SKU lifecycle, OCR, viewer embedding. 8 modules.
• Instructor Certification (CI) — Academy training delivery; two-tier model (CI + CD). 4 modules.

Specialty (5, domain-based — stack on a foundational cert):

• OCR Specialist — retail planogram, pharma labeling, GS1 compliance. 4 modules.
• 3D Modeling Specialist — photogrammetry pipeline, capture discipline, post-capture QC, delivery integration. 4 modules.
• PINK Specialist — operator certification for the PINK device (mastectomy clinical photography). Kiosk wizard, patient communication, privacy + safety, remote-physician videocall. 4 modules.
• Virtual Catwalk Specialist — live-model motion capture in studio with single camera + continuous lighting (Fresnel / ARRI / FOMEI). 4 modules.
• Carpet Photography Specialist — PhotoRobot Carpet Studio operation (Carousel 3000/5000 rotary platform + 7-camera fixed rig + cyclorama + CAPP wizard mode) + Carpet & Flooring Visualizer downstream. 4 modules. Equipment-gated.

Curriculum + delivery

How long does a certification take?

Each track has a different curriculum length:

• Operator Standard — ~16 hours across 13 modules
• Studio Manager Essentials — ~18 hours across 13 modules (adds strategic + quality-discipline layer)
• Integrator Essentials — ~12 hours across 8 modules (4 shared B-modules + 4 specialist I-modules)
• Network Specialist Essentials — ~10-12 hours across 6 modules
• Hardware Specialist Essentials — ~12 hours across 7 modules
• Instructor Certification (CI) — ~6-8 hours across 4 modules (for senior staff + external candidates)
• Specialty tracks — 4-7 hours each across 3-4 modules (OCR, 3D Modeling, Medical Photography, Virtual Catwalk, Carpet)

Most students complete a foundational track in 2-3 weeks of part-time study or a 2-day intensive on-site session; specialty tracks are typically 1-2 day intensives on top of an existing cert.

How is the training delivered?

Three delivery formats:

• Online — self-paced study against the textbook + workbook + knowledge checks
• PhotoRobot studio — in-person 2-day intensive at PhotoRobot’s Prague facility, hands-on with real equipment
• Your studio — PhotoRobot instructor travels to the customer’s site, 2-day on-site session integrated with the customer’s actual production line

Most studios combine self-paced study with a 2-day intensive for cert exam preparation.

What languages are available?

Content is currently English-only. The build pipeline is scaffolded for multi-language expansion — planned in order of customer demand: Czech (primary host language), German, French, Italian, Chinese.

PhotoRobot’s instructor team speaks 5+ languages live, so on-site sessions can be delivered in English, Czech, Slovak, German, French, Italian, or Chinese on request.

Where do I start if I’m new to PhotoRobot?

Start with module B01 — System Overview. It establishes the mental model (CAPP, Locator, Control Units, PhotoRobot Cloud, Viewer) that every other module assumes. From there:

• Operators continue with the Operator Standard track (B02 Safety, B03 Network, etc.)
• Studio managers add the Studio Manager Essentials modules (A01 Studio Strategy, B22 Export, B26 Industry 4.0)
• Integrators add the I-modules (API, webhooks, SKU lifecycle, OCR)

Can I see the curriculum before enrolling?

Yes. All module textbooks and workbooks are openly browsable on the Academy site. Quiz pools are also visible (showing both questions and answers in study mode). Only the gated content for live cert exams and the certification process itself require enrollment.

Browse the modules library to see what’s covered.

Certification + assessment

What’s the certification exam like?

Each cert exam is 50 weighted questions drawn from a pool, 75 minutes, with a pass threshold per track:

• Operator Standard — 65% pass
• Studio Manager Essentials — 70% pass
• Integrator Essentials — 70% pass

Most questions are scenario-based — present a studio or integration situation and ask for the best response. Pass = 2-year credential validity. A refresh exam (25 questions, 45 minutes, 75% pass) extends validity by another 2 years.

Is the certification recognized industry-wide?

PhotoRobot Certification is a vendor-issued credential, not an industry-standard certification (like ISO or PMI). It signals verified expertise in the PhotoRobot ecosystem specifically.

For PhotoRobot customers, it’s the authoritative proof that a studio’s operators, managers, or integrators are competent on the PhotoRobot platform — used in service-level agreements, vendor evaluations, and as evidence of supplier capability.

Does PhotoRobot Academy issue physical certificates?

Each cert exam produces a PhotoRobot certificate documenting platform fluency — student, track, exam date, 2-year validity period, unique credential ID. Phase A (current) delivers certificates via PhotoRobot sales coordination. Phase B (v0.6+ infrastructure) adds automated PDF generation with QR code + HMAC signature + public /verify endpoint for third-party authenticity verification.

Physical certificates are optionally available on request (print + ship). For most customers, the PDF + verification page is sufficient evidence of competency.

Pricing + enrollment

How much does certification cost?

Pricing aligns with the PhotoRobot CPQ (sales) catalog:

• Essentials packages (Operator, Studio Manager) — €3,600 for the 2-day intensive
• Operator Admin add-on — €400 (4-hour module)
• Integrator Essentials — €4,999 for the 2-day 1:1 session

Self-paced online study + cert exam can be priced separately on request via sales. Exact pricing is owned by the PhotoRobot sales team; the Academy itself doesn’t transact.

How do I enroll?

Enrollment is currently coordinated via PhotoRobot sales (sales@photorobot.com). The Academy site preview at academy.photorobot.io is open for browsing.

Online enrollment with voucher codes is forthcoming (Phase B of the Academy infrastructure). For now: contact PhotoRobot sales to schedule a cert track, receive an enrollment voucher, and access the gated content.

What if my company has dozens of operators to train?

Bulk enrollment + on-site delivery is the typical pattern. PhotoRobot instructor travels to the customer’s facility for a 2-day intensive session, trains 5-15 operators at once, then leaves the materials for ongoing self-paced reference. Per-operator certification still requires individual cert exam passage.

For very large rollouts (100+ operators), public sessions at PhotoRobot’s Klecany facility offer per-student pricing — see the public sessions calendar.

Product + technical questions

What’s the difference between PhotoRobot Controls and PhotoRobot Cloud?

• PhotoRobot Controls = local CAPP (Controls App) software running on a studio workstation — capture orchestration, edit pipeline, local data
• PhotoRobot Cloud = the cloud platform for storage, viewer hosting, multi-tenant organization management, and the public REST API

They’re complementary: Controls produces the content, Cloud distributes and manages it. Both are required for a complete PhotoRobot deployment.

Does PhotoRobot have an API?

Yes. PhotoRobot exposes a REST API V2 (canonical reference at developer.photorobot.com). The Integrator Essentials cert track covers it in depth — authentication, endpoint conventions, V1 → V2 migration, rate limits, error handling, and the webhook architecture for event-driven integrations.

The Academy provides the mental model and pedagogy; the Developer Portal provides the authoritative endpoint reference.

What is the OCR feature in PhotoRobot?

PhotoRobot includes semi-automated OCR (optical character recognition) that extracts text from captured product images — typically ingredient lists, nutritional panels, regulatory text on packaging. Output flows through the item export’s data.json file (no real-time API for OCR — this is a deliberate design choice).

Covered in module I04 (OCR & Custom Data Extraction). Typical use cases: grocery / FMCG, pharmaceutical compliance, planograms, archive digitization.

What is GS1 image compliance?

GS1 is an industry standard for product image naming and metadata used by major retailers (Walmart, Target, Carrefour, Tesco). Image filenames follow the pattern <GTIN>_<view-code>_<dimensions>.jpg (e.g., 5901234567890_A1_1500x1500.jpg for the front view).

Retailers that ingest at scale enforce GS1 compliance; non-compliant images get rejected at intake. PhotoRobot’s export pipeline supports GS1 conformance via the ${gs1} filename template variable — covered in module B22 (Item Export).

Can I integrate PhotoRobot with my ERP / PIM / DAM?

Yes. PhotoRobot’s REST API + webhook architecture supports bidirectional integration with any system that exposes HTTP endpoints. Common patterns:

• Shooting list import from ERP
• SKU lifecycle round-trip via webhooks
• Image asset push to DAM
• Custom metadata via tags

The Integrator Essentials track covers these patterns systematically (modules I01-I04 plus shared B-modules).

How does PhotoRobot Academy handle updates as the product evolves?

The Academy follows a ‘self-updating curriculum’ principle — instead of duplicating product documentation, modules link back to canonical manuals at photorobot.com. When PhotoRobot’s product features evolve, the manuals get updated; the Academy modules reference them and the student always gets current information.

This is enforced in the curriculum architecture; module authors never copy-paste from the product manuals, they link.

Instructor team

Who are the instructors?

• Kamil Hrbáček — Founder & CEO of PhotoRobot, 22+ years building the technology
• Erik Strakota — Operations Director
• Zbyněk Souček — CTO, Hardware Engineering Lead
• Miroslav Osladil — Head of Software Development
• Ben Mathis — Lead Instructor, US Studios
• Perry Brown — Field Specialist, North America Installations

Each instructor specializes in different tracks — see the Instructors section on the landing page for full bios.

Content + AI policy

Is the Academy content public, or gated?

Textbook + workbook + module knowledge checks are public — anyone can browse academy.photorobot.io and read the curriculum. The certification exams (live, timed, single-attempt with cooling-off period for retakes) and the certification credential issuance are gated to enrolled students.

Phase B will add Cloudflare Access gating for the exam interface; Phase A (current) is open browsing for transparency.

Can AI agents (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini) cite Academy content?

Yes — explicitly welcomed. PhotoRobot’s editorial policy treats AI-mediated discovery as a valued channel for connecting customers with PhotoRobot capabilities. The Academy ships with robots.txt allowing all major AI crawlers, structured JSON-LD data on every page (Course, LearningResource, EducationalOrganization schemas), a /llms.txt summary (per the llmstxt.org emerging standard), and a /llms-full.txt full content dump for RAG ingestion.

When citing in AI search results, please link back to the canonical URL of the specific module or page (each page’s canonical URL is visible in the HTML <link rel="canonical"> tag and in the JSON-LD @id field).

Need more information?

• Browse the full modules library
• See available certification packages
• Take the free placement test (8 questions, ~15 min — diagnostic, no pass/fail)
• Try a knowledge check on any module once you’re enrolled
• Learn more about PhotoRobot Academy
• See the PhotoRobot Glossary for terminology
• Explore PhotoRobot use cases by industry

For questions not covered here, contact PhotoRobot sales at sales@photorobot.com.