UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 66 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Internet of Things Smart Home Scenario

When the alarm of your smartphone rings in the morning, you wake up and tap it to stop the alarm which causes your geyser to be switched on automatically. The smart mirror in your bathroom shows the day's weather and also indicates the level of water in your overhead tank. After you take some groceries from your refrigerator for making breakfast, it recognises the shortage of stock in it and places an order for the supply of fresh grocery items. When you step out of your house and lock the door, all lights, fans, geysers and AC machines get switched off automatically. On your way to office, your car warns you about traffic congestion ahead and suggests an alternative route, and if you are late for a meeting, it sends a message to your office accordingly. In the context of emerging communication technologies, which one of the following terms best applies to the above scenario?

  1. Border Gateway Protocol
  2. Internet of Things
  3. Internet Protocol
  4. Virtual Private Network
Show answer

Answer: B. Internet of Things

Analysis

The scenario describes the Internet of Things, so the answer is (b).

The Internet of Things refers to the billions of physical devices around the world now connected to the internet, collecting and sharing data, from cellphones and coffee makers to washing machines, lamps and wearable devices. The examples in the stem match the standard illustrations closely: a car with access to your calendar that knows the best route and texts the other party when traffic makes you late, and an alarm clock that notifies your coffee maker to start brewing. A lightbulb switched on through a smartphone app, a motion sensor or a connected streetlight are all IoT devices.

The other options are networking concepts rather than a paradigm of connected objects. Border Gateway Protocol routes traffic between networks, Internet Protocol addresses and delivers packets, and a Virtual Private Network secures a connection. Each underpins the internet but none describes appliances acting on each other's data.

Source

Forbes explanation of the Internet of Things.

How to crack it

The chain of reasoning is that three options name protocols or services while one names an application paradigm, and the stem describes behaviour rather than plumbing. Match the level of abstraction in the stem to the level in the options.

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