The first lesson of this course is RPA Basics.
By the end of this lesson, you will be able to:
• Describe the history of automation
• Describe the story of work
• Explain RPA and A.I.
• Compare RPA and Automation
• Describe RPA and emerging ecosystem
• List the industries best suited for RPA
• Identify the processes best-suited for automation.
This section gives an overview of automation with a brief on its history and benefits.
Introduction to Automation
Automation is the technology by which a process or procedure is executed with minimal human assistance. It is a way of improving any process mechanism by removing the unwanted or repetitive tasks so that the overall performance is enhanced. Automation impacts any business process's gross efficiency and productivity by freeing the human workers from the monotony of performing repetitive tasks. This, in turn, allows the human resources to be better utilized in more productive work.
The best instance of automation in the business and technology field is the manufacturing process, which was dependent on human labor earlier, but is now becoming fully automated.
One such example of automation is automated bottle-filling stations.
Overview of History of Automation
The term described the increased use of automatic devices and controls in mechanized
production lines. However, the history of automation began more than 2300 years ago.
With technological advancements, the development of this technology became
increasingly dependent on computers and computer-related technologies.
• Around 300 B.C., the first attempts at automation are linked to the idea of measuring
time. Mechanical clocks began to appear in Europe towards the end of the 13th
century. The Greeks, the Arabs, and the Egyptians made several attempts to
automate water clocks (or clepsydras, used from the 16th century B.C.). These were
followed by introducing automation into windmills, steam engine, etc.
• With the industrial revolution in the 1800s came many advancements like the
introduction of the telegraph, telephone and the concept of programmable machines.
The 19th century witnessed the electrification of many factories, creating the need for
centralized control. The first attempts were simple on/off mechanisms. In 1937, the
first electronic digital computer was designed, followed by personal computers and
the Internet in 1974. Further, in the 20th century, improvements in data-storage
technology, software to write computer programs, advances in sensor technology,
etc., contributed to the progress in automation technology. The concept of robots was
also developed, followed by the introduction of Robotic Process Automation in the
21st century.
• In recent times, RPA has grown with integrating the latest I.T. technologies, such as
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Robots are already able to automate
simple, repetitive processes. Through the combination of RPA with these intelligent
platforms, they will soon improve their performance and make complex decisions with little intervention or programming.
Benefits of Automation
Automation leads to an improvement in the productivity of any system, thereby decreasing operational cost and average handling time for executing any activity. Also, certain activities involve a risk factor, making human life vulnerable to danger. Automated systems help in removing workers from the hazardous workplace, thus assisting in their safety.
This section introduces the concept of Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and discusses its benefits.
What is RPA
RPA stands for Robotic Process Automation.
It is the technology that enables a software program to mimic human actions while
interacting with computer applications to accomplish required tasks. This often requires
reading, typing, or clicking on existing applications that are used to perform the given
tasks. RPA can also replicate the actions performed by a user in the graphical user
interface of an application.
• It reads and processes data in a structured form from various applications. It can
extract information from pdf, word, excel documents and process it as per the
requirement.
• It operates on different computer applications (e.g. browser, Excel). It is non-invasive
and can access the applications like CRM, websites, M.S. office applications which
are used to perform repetitive tasks.
• It is easy to implement and powerful to scale as per the requirement. RPA solutions
can be easily developed and deployed. The number of robots can be increased or
decreased depending upon the requirement.
• It works 24/7 without making errors as it works on predefined rules. The robots can
work continuously without taking a break. As the rules for the robots are predefined, it
also increases their accuracy.
• RPA as a technology creates a digital robotic workforce that performs manual
operations for completing a task.
Evolution of RPA
• Screen Scraping software: It enables the robots to interact with different user interface elements and documents, such as pdf files, to extract data for further processing.
• Workflow Automation and Management Tools: These provide a visual representation of a business or mechanical processes, minimize the human intervention required in their execution, and eliminate the redundant steps. For example, workflow automation software can aid in order processing by capturing certain fields of interest, translating them into the company’s database, and notifying the corresponding employee. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and increases order fulfillment rates, thereby increasing speed, efficiency, and accuracy.
• Artificial Intelligence: It refers to the capability of computer systems to perform tasks that normally require human intervention and intelligence. The tasks that were previously dependent on humans for their judgement and decision-making ability can now be done by A.I. For example, financial planning and fraud detection. The evolution and deployment of RPA and its ability to combine, refine, and reimagine certain aspects of each of these technologies make RPA an impactful technological platform.
Benefits of RPA
The implementation of an RPA solution brings several benefits to an organization. Some of the main advantages of adopting an RPA solution are as follows:
• Increased execution speed: Robots are quicker and more efficient than human operators. Deploying RPA can drastically increase the speed of execution of repetitive or mundane tasks.
• Improved accuracy: RPA implementation leads to an increase in system accuracy. This is because RPA works on a predefined set of rules and instructions, minimizing the errors of omission and commission.
• Improved compliance and governance: RPA solutions are adopted following regulatory compliance. For example, in the banking sector, since the Robot Login details are secure and unique, the activity carried out is well controlled and supervised. This leads to improved regulatory compliance which creates transparency and allows the user to identify any issue or defect easily.
• Reduced cost of process execution: The work capacity of robots is superior to that of human workers. By adopting an RPA solution, organizations can significantly reduce their operational costs. When an RPA solution is implemented, the task execution rate is considerably increased, and the corresponding costs are decreased. A robot can work 24/7 and there is no time constraint. This increases productivity and improves the output which in turn releases the human workforce capacity for performing creative and high-value tasks.
• Easier scaling: The amount of work involved in a process can vary, as unexpected changes are likely to occur in most business environments. An RPA solution is highly adaptable as it can be scaled up or down as per the fluctuations in the business environment. For performing a particular task, you can easily increase or decrease the number of robots in the system without compromising on the quality of work.
Rapid ROI: All these factors like cost reduction, improved accuracy, optimization of time and resources, result in extremely efficient operations for an organization. Thus, yielding a higher and faster return on investment by implementing an RPA solution.
RPA vs. Automation
At this point, it becomes important to understand the difference between RPA and Automation.
In a nutshell:
• Robotics Process Automation is used to automate any business processes that are repetitive and rule-based. The RPA solutions are non-invasive and are compatible with all platforms and applications. They are platform-independent. RPA mimics user actions and can cognitively take decisions to perform actions. It is suitable for industries like Finance, Healthcare, Insurance, etc. where tasks are performed in an office environment on computers. Help Desk can be an example of RPA wherein an automated system supports a customer support personnel in automating repetitive activities such as finding one type of information for every customer call.
• Automation is used to automate specific type of processes that were earlier performed by humans. Automation helps in improving the speed and efficiency of processes. It is used in various areas like manufacturing, transport, utilities, defense, facilities, operations and information technology. Examples of automation are calculators, washing machines, etc.
RPA and AI capabilities
RPA is a software robot that mimics human actions while Artificial Intelligence is the
simulation of human intelligence by machines.
In a nutshell:
• A.I. constitutes:
- Natural Language Processing
- Machine Learning
- Natural Language Understanding
- Chatbots
• RPA is applicable for processes which are:
- Voluminous
- Labor-intensive
- Rule-based and repetitive
- Using structured data
The automation capabilities can be improved by combining artificial intelligence with
RPA, resulting in much faster automation processes. RPA combined with advanced
cognitive capabilities such as Artificial Intelligence allows bots to act more intelligently.
The bots also interpret the interfaces they work across with better error handling capacity.
For example, using RPA, the user needs the documents to be in a specific format to get
them scanned. In this case, if an A.I. system is used along with the task, it will filter out the poorly formatted or unsuitable documents; hence the work of the RPA would be much easier.
A.I. and RPA combination will enable organizations to automate more complex end-to-end processes. A.I. and RPA are two distinguished technologies that industries can use to witness their organization’s digital transformation in real-time. The combination of the two can prove to be extremely powerful.
Blending AI into RPA
RPA is a continuously evolving technology and its integration with Artificial Intelligence
helps to enhance the automation capabilities. UiPath provides RPA and A.I. integration
through A.I. Center which applies the cognitive power of A.I. to any software that can be
automated by RPA.
A.I. Center makes it easy to deploy A.I. and continually improve it. It provides the robots
with the skills needed to process documents, recognizes dynamic interfaces, and make
complex decisions. The skills are:
• Document Understanding: Allows robots to process documents faster as A.I.
teaches the robots to read and understand different kinds of documents like PDFs,
images, handwriting, and scans.
• A.I. Computer Vision: Allows robots to interact with screens, including VDI (Virtual
desktop infrastructure) elements and dynamic interfaces to automate business
processes that use virtual desktops.
• UiPath Chatbots: Allows robots to process and automate the text, chat, and voice
inputs.Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you! All questions and comments are welcome. If you enjoyed reading this post please share it with others using one of those social media sharing buttons below or leave me a comment down below! Thanks again for reading and have an awesome day.
see you in next class!!!
 Design and Development V3.0 (Lesson 1)){kind=link}
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