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?
Answer & explanation
Answer: (b) Internet of Things
The scenario is the Internet of Things (IoT): everyday objects such as a phone, geyser, refrigerator, mirror, door lock and car are connected through the internet, sense their surroundings and exchange data, so they act on their own. Every event in the story is one connected device talking to another.
- ✓ (b) IoT connects physical objects (cars, phones, appliances) to the internet so they can send and receive data. Here the alarm triggers the geyser, the refrigerator places an order and the car reports traffic and sends a message.
- ✗ (a) Border Gateway Protocol is a routing protocol that lets large networks on the internet exchange path information. It is not a way for home devices to act on their own.
- ✗ (c) Internet Protocol is the addressing and packet-delivery rule set of the internet. IoT devices use it, but it does not name the smart, self-acting behaviour described.
- ✗ (d) A Virtual Private Network creates a secure, private link over a public network. Nothing in the story concerns secure remote access.
Remember · IoT = everyday objects with sensors and internet connections that exchange data and act automatically.
Sources
- IPCC SR1.5 Glossary: Internet of Things (IoT) ↗ “The network of computing devices embedded in everyday objects such as cars, phones and computers, connected via the internet, enabling them to send and receive data.”
- ITU-T: Internet of Things Global Standards Initiative ↗ “a global infrastructure for the information society, enabling advanced services by interconnecting (physical and virtual) things based on existing and evolving interoperable information and communication technologies.”
Question and answer: UPSC's official GS Paper I (2018, Series A) — paper ↗ · answer key ↗. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 30 Sept 2026 (how we verify). ·