Integration of RPA and AI in Industry 4.0

Abstract

The transition beginning from early Industry 1.0 to the current Industry 4.0 can be seen as movement from traditional methods to the present digital processes. These digital processes claim to be the foundation of Industry 4.0 and have led to the creation of vast volumes of data, collectively referred to as the Big data. As much as this proved to be a boon to the developing technology, the storage and effective utilization of this data, consuming unimaginable human efforts, was a crisis in itself. Here’s where RPA (Robotic Process Automation) and AI (Artificial Intelligence) play their respective roles. While AI techniques mimic human thinking, RPA processes automate repetitive tasks. The Integration of RPA and AI leads to Intelligent Automation, thus streamlining human efforts along with increasing speed, productivity, and quality. Apart from these benefits, combining AI algorithms, strategies, and techniques with RPA tools improves RPA processes’ effectiveness and precision in recognition, data extraction, forecasting, classification, and process optimization. In this regard, the main purpose of this chapter is to brief about the evolutions up to the present industry 4.0 and discuss the essence of integrating AI and RPA along with its benefits to mankind. It continues to explain the challenges faced in effective integration of the two booming technologies, elucidate a few misconceptions related to it and also illustrate the use cases of the same. In addition, the chapter throws light upon different RPA tools in great detail.