What is a robot?

A robot is a digital worker that's made up of two parts: a host machine and an agent. A robot needs a workspace, just like a human worker does. The host machine is the environment in which the digital worker completes robotic tasks. The host machine can be a physical machine, such as a separate computer, or a virtual machine on a cloud server. Multiple robots can map to the same host machine.

To execute a robotic task, the robot needs certain data or information from the server. The robot communicates with the server through an agent, which is a file you install on the host machine. Agents must be up and running on the host machine for robotic tasks to execute properly and communicate the results back to the console.

Where to manage robots

The Operations Console is designed to allow Operations Managers to set up and maintain a fleet of robots to support robotic task executions. Any user who is added to the Designer role, System Administrator role, or a member of the RPA Operations Managers system group has access to the Operations Console.

Administrators can control who has access to the Operations Console by updating a user's group membership in Appian.

What you can do in the Operations Console

By default, Operations Managers can perform the following actions:

• Access the Operations Console
• Execute robotic tasks on a robot

Additionally, Operations Managers can take the following actions on a robot when their assigned permission level matches the permission level set on the robot's security role map.

• Create a robot
• View the list of robots
• View and edit robot details
• Allow Appian to sign in
• View a live robot
• Manage connections
• Restart a robot

Security

Security for robots consists of the following:

• system groups that manage access to the Operations Console, the RPA console, and the ability to create robots.
• security role maps that manage activities related to robots.

Robot security by system group

Action	RPA Operations Manager	Designer
Access the Operations Console and view the Robot Management page	Yes	Yes
Create a new robot	Yes	No

Robot security by role maps

Starting from the Appian 23.4 release, newly created robots can only be secured using role maps. The security role map of a robot controls whether users can view or modify it and its properties. Unlike some other objects, Robots never inherit security.

The following table outlines the actions that can be completed for each permission level in a robot's security role map:

Robot Actions	Administrator	Editor	Viewer	Deny
Monitor executions (Also requires Viewer, Editor, or Admin permission on the robotic task)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
View list of robots	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
View robot dashboard (robot details)	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Edit properties	Yes	Yes	No	No
View security	Yes	Yes	No	No
Edit/Enable/Disable auto login	Yes	Yes	No	No
Update security	Yes	No	No	No
Download and install agents	Yes	No	No	No
Download and install auto-login	Yes	No	No	No
View live robots	Yes	No	No	No
Enable / Disable robot	Yes	No	No	No
Lock / Unlock robot input	Yes	No	No	No
Restart robot	Yes	No	No	No
Delete robot	Yes	No	No	No

Change robots from permission tags to role maps

If you are using Appian 23.4 or later, you can permanently switch your robots from using permission tags to role maps. Follow these steps in the Operations Console to transition a robot to security role maps and remove permission tags.

1. Use one of the following methods to navigate to the robot Robot Security screen from the Robot Management screen.

   Method	Example
   Select the checkbox next to the robot then click SECURITY.
   Select the robot you want to change. Result: The Robot Detail page displays. Select Security from the action menu.

2. Click Add Users or Groups.
   Result A blank line is added.
3. Complete one of the following options.
   • In the blank line, start entering the user or group you want to add and the system will auto-suggest a list of users and groups from which you can select.
   • Click the Create New Group button. Click Create when you are done creating the group.
4. Select the Permission Level you want the user or group to have: Administrator, Editor, Viewer, or Deny.
5. Select Save Changes.
   Result: Appian removes the permission tags from the robot and replaces the security with the security role maps you added.

See also

If you need more information about managing robots or information about generally monitoring things in Appian RPA, see the Manage category.