Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is a technology that uses software robots (bots) to automate repetitive, rule-based tasks that humans typically perform through graphical user interfaces. RPA bots interact with applications the same way a human would: clicking buttons, entering data, reading screen content, and moving information between systems.

Origins and History

The term “robotic process automation” was coined by Blue Prism, a UK-based company founded in 2001 by Alastair Bathgate and David Moss. Blue Prism began using the term around 2012 to distinguish its approach from earlier screen-scraping tools. The technology drew on predecessors including screen scraping, macro recording, and workflow automation. The RPA market expanded rapidly in the mid-2010s with the emergence of UiPath (founded 2005, pivoted to RPA around 2013) and Automation Anywhere (founded 2003). By the late 2010s, RPA had become one of the fastest-growing segments in enterprise software, driven by the promise of automating legacy system integration without requiring API development.

How It Works

RPA operates at the user interface layer. An attended bot runs on an employee’s workstation and assists with tasks in real time, triggered by the user. An unattended bot runs on a server or virtual machine, executing scheduled or event-triggered processes without human involvement. Bots are typically built using visual designers where developers record or configure interaction sequences. The bot identifies UI elements through selectors (attributes, coordinates, or image recognition), executes the defined steps, and logs the results. An orchestrator manages bot deployment, scheduling, credential storage, and monitoring across the organization.

Practical Applications

Common RPA use cases include data entry and migration between systems that lack APIs, invoice processing and accounts payable reconciliation, employee onboarding across HR and IT systems, and report generation from multiple source applications. Organizations increasingly combine RPA with AI capabilities (intelligent document processing, natural language understanding) in what is termed intelligent automation or hyperautomation.

Sources

  1. Willcocks, L., Lacity, M., and Craig, A. (2015). “The IT Function and Robotic Process Automation.” The Outsourcing Unit Working Research Paper Series, London School of Economics.
  2. IEEE Corporate Advisory Group (2017). “IEEE Guide for Terms and Concepts in Intelligent Process Automation.” IEEE 2755-2017.
  3. van der Aalst, W.M.P., Bichler, M., and Heinzl, A. (2018). “Robotic Process Automation.” Business & Information Systems Engineering, 60(4), 269-272.