Task Automation Services: Automation for the Masses

A simple model of mashup technology for combining services and connected devices is now becoming popular. This model is frequently referred to as task automation based on Event-Condition-Action (ECA) rules. The most popular online services that follow this approach are Ifttt and Zapier. In addition, this model is being followed by several mobile frameworks to automate how phones deal with incoming Internet events and phone sensors. Here, the authors outline the features and components of task automation services (TASs), and propose a generic architecture that supports current challenges. Also, because TASs are a growing trend, this article provides a survey comparison of existing platforms and discusses their evolution and future tendencies.