Open Source RPA – The new face of innovation and the next evolutionary step in RPA | IA – Part 4 of 6

Introduction Platforms continued

The sign of a maturing market can often be judged by the amount of innovation happening within an industry or sector and Open Source RPA is no different.

In Part 1 we introduced Open Source RPA. In Part 2 we looked a variety of Open Source RPA platform providers. In Part 3 we looked at TagUI, RPA for Python, Robin and OpenBots. And today we look at RoboCorp, Robot Framework and SikuliX.

Robocorp

A $12m VC backed, commercial, developer-focused tool based on the popular Robot Framework project a testing framework that has proven very popular.  A Python-based stack for automating any repetitive process. Build locally, operate from the cloud, run anywhere. An open source RPA tool that is based on cloud-native technology which focuses on the developers’ ease of use.

Figure 1: RoboCorp Application Interface

It’s creator Antti Karjalainen says that RoboCorp is suitable for any type of organisation large or small.

• The believes open-source tools should be widely available to everyone.
• A tool that is suitable to automate any repetitive process.

Key features

1. Robocorp Docs – https://robocorp.com/docs/ – for learning / community – courses, examples, and support. 
2. Robocorp Lab – their proprietary integrated development environment (IDE). Robocorp also has a VS Code extension for those who prefer that.
3. RPA Framework – https://rpaframework.org/ – Readymade open source libraries, the building blocks for virtually all common RPA uses cases.
4. Robocorp Portal – https://robocorp.com/portal/ – for ready-made examples.
5. Robocorp Cloud – a multi-tenant cloud orchestration platform for deploying and monitoring robots.
6. Robocorp Cloud Enterprise (coming soon!) – a private cloud / self-hosted orchestration platform.
7. Robocorp App – their on-premise agent, installed on a target machine, with an encrypted connection to their cloud orchestration.

Video 1: An introduction to Robocorp by CEO Antti and Head of Partnerships Peter

Architecture

The Robocorp framework was initially developed at Nokia Networks and was open sourced in 2008. Robot Framework has easy syntax, utilising human-readable keywords. For example, “Open Available Browser” for opening a browser page.

Its capabilities can be extended by libraries implemented with Python or Java. The framework has a rich ecosystem around it, consisting of libraries and tools that are developed as separate projects. The RPA Framework is one of its libraries which is used for Robotic Process Automation (RPA). This library is also utilised by Robocorp to power its RPA technology.

Figure 2: RoboCorp Architecture

Platforms – Windows, Mac OS, Linux

Robot Framework Foundation plus picture

Robot Framework Foundation is an open-source RPA solution designed to automate business processes; quite popular in test automation. Robot Framework is a generic framework for both test automation and RPA. Like others, it emphasizes natural or human-readable language as a means of making it easier to use

Figure 3 : Robot Framework

Robot Framework is suitable for a

• The believes open-source tools should be widely available to everyone.
• A tool that is suitable to automate any repetitive process.

Top 5 Features

• Supports iOS and Android application 
• Quite easy to create new libraries out of Python or Java code
• Can add orchestration functionality through Jenkins plugins
• huge active community of thousands of developers with many industry-leading companies.

SikuliX

What is SikuliX? SikuliX automates anything you see on the screen of your desktop computer running Windows, Mac or some Linux/Unix. It uses image recognition powered by OpenCV to identify GUI components. This is handy in cases when there is no easy access to a GUI’s internals or the source code of the application or web page you want to act on.

SikuliX supports as scripting languages

• Python language level 2.7 (supported by Jython)
• running RobotFramework text-scripts is supported (see docs)
• Ruby language level 1.9 and 2.0 (supported by JRuby)
• JavaScript (supported by the Java Scripting Engine)

… and you can use it in Java programming and programming/scripting with any Java aware programming/scripting language (Jython, JRuby, Scala, Clojure, …).

Figure 3 : SikuliX IDE Interface

When is SikuliX useful? You want to automate some repetitive tasks in

• daily usage of applications or web pages
• playing games
• administration of IT systems and networks
• you do not have adequate tools at hand.
• You want to test applications or web pages, that are under development.
• You want to create usage documentation or training material, that run live on the addressed application or web page.

There is increasing potential for firms to leverage Open Source RPA. There are an increasing number of vendors in the market offering a wide range of tools and platforms. The sign of a maturing market can often be judged by the amount of innovation happening within an industry. Open Source RPA is an excellent example of innovation in the maturing automation market.

If you enjoyed this article then you may enjoy these 10 articles too.

1. Building an Automation Centre of Expertise | An Experts Guide – 5 part series
2. If your RPA program is not making money then it has failed.
3. RPA – Proof of Concept (POC) or Proof of Value (POV)? Who cares, just get going!
4. 40 Essential Selection Criteria to Choose an RPA Platform – 5 part series
5. I meet 150+ developers and these are 20 signs of a truly gifted developer
6. The A-Z of Robotic Process Automation, Intelligent Automation and Digital Transformation
7. How to scale successfully – you have 60 seconds to reply
8. Can organizations implement RPA without having a digital transformation strategy – what would you have said?
9. FREE training sites for Robotic Process Automation, Intelligent Automation, Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence & Digital Training Sites
10. 22 way to cut the cost of an automation program – 4 part series

If this could benefit someone else tag them and share this.

Free to reuse: We are a community of RPA, analytics, digital and intelligent automation experts with years of real world experience. We have stories to tell and the scars to show for it. We share our collective wisdom for free to simply provide as much value as we can to you. Therefore, if you want to post this article on your LinkedIn page then please feel free to do so. The more information we share within the RPA community the more likely businesses are to succeed with this excellent technology.

Further Help: If I can help you in any way please do reach out.

Note: The views expressed above are our views and not those of my employer or the employers of the contributing expert