what is rpa?  

rpa aims at automation of business process. therefore it uses tools that allow to govern technology by business logic and structured input.

using rpa you can configure services (or a robot) to capture and interpret applications for processing transactions, to manipulate data, triggering responses or communicating with other digital systems.

you can compare rpa vs. traditional automation with a shovel vs. excavator:
when the task at hand can be handled with a shovel, you don’t need an excavator. and ... it is easier and much much cheaper to buy a shovel than an excavator