A question was asked me in interview. Does internet of things work without internet. My answer was that, internet of things can not work without internet.Interviewer said that lets suppose you made a smart water pump monitoring system for a client. You set up this project on his house. Now he can monitor water pump of his house from anywhere. But what will you do in condition when internet connect goes down or someone jam internet connection of his house. that time your project can not work for him. What will you do in this condition. How will you fix these issues.

I said internet is essential for internet of things, Internet of things can not work without internet but they were not agreed with my answer. I don't know weather I am right or wrong. can someone tell me if I am wrong then what would be correct answer ?

 

I suppose it depends on your definition of internet.

It is possible to link multiple devices together through a network switch and have them communicate with each other using TCP/IP without ever having to connect to the wider World Wide Web. I see no reason why your "customer" could not connect all of his water pumps together via his home WiFi router and exercise control from a laptop or phone connected to the same network without the need for connecting to the devices from outwith than LAN.

I have worked on a project where one of the IOT devices also had a GSM modem to allow it to send and receive SMS messages. In a situation like that, it would be entirely possible for multiple devices to communicate on a local network through WiFi or Ethernet but to connect to remote devices through some other mean like SMS or Bluetooth etc. Therefore you could have an Internet of Things without actually connecting them to the internet.

 

You could connect a cell phone/module to the microprocessor that controls IOT function. Then when ever you lose the internet connection...it can call owner with text to notify. It could also relay smart pump info until internet service is restored.

We use to do this with remote sites......for backup of hard line/phone line and radio links.

 

The question that they asked you is a stupid question, and the answer that they gave you is a stupid answer. An IOT device can have a backup like GSM (SMS text messages to Monitor and control) but if it's operating on GSM, it's no longer operating in the capacity of an IOT device. An IOT device, by definition, requires the internet.

Also if they meant to imply that this smart pump controller, among many other devices, could be controlled over a local area network without connecting to the World Wide Web, then they're still stupid. That would be an intranet of things, but the proper term is a distributed control system (DCS).

 

What special kind of work does that company do?

 

What special kind of work does that company do?

The kind of company who makes USB devices which don't require USB, and serial devices which don't require serial.

 

As already noted, a local "IoT" system can still work fine without full internet access, but it's fair to argue as @strantor does that this is no longer IoT. Most interviewers probably aren't looking for that pedantic answer but it would be tempting to school the questioner in using logic and precise vocabulary. You never know. That may have been exactly what he was looking for, or absolutely not what he wanted.

 

As already noted, a local "IoT" system can still work fine without full internet access, but it's fair to argue as @strantor does that this is no longer IoT. Most interviewers probably aren't looking for that pedantic answer but it would be tempting to school the questioner in using logic and precise vocabulary. You never know. That may have been exactly what he was looking for, or absolutely not what he wanted.

Is it really that pedantic though? I'll use a few analogous questions to illustrate why I think it isn't pedantic at all...

Q: Can a USB device work without USB?
A: of course not.
"Correct" A: yes, of course. Assuming you provide a separate power port, a wall wart, and a serial port with which to communicate with it. At which point it is no longer a "USB" device.

Q: Can a 4-20mA flow controller work without a 4-20mA signal to it?
A: of course not.
"Correct" A: of course, so long as you design it with a separate power supply and a multipurpose analog input which can accept a 0-10V signal. At which point it is no longer simply a "4-20mA" device.

Q: Can an RS232 serial repeater work without serial?
A: no.
"Correct" A: of course it can, so long as the device also has an attached antenna through which it can receive a WiFi signal and translate UDP into serial. At which point it is no longer a "serial repeater."

Q: Can an IOT device function without internet?
A: erm...no? Yeah, no.
"Correct" A: sure it can, so long as you don't want to use your INTERNET Of Things device on a network which isn't the INTERNET. Or if you're cool with controlling your device via text message, which also isn't the internet. Which In either case it is no longer an "IOT" device.

 

Is it really that pedantic though? I'll use a few analogous questions to illustrate why I think it isn't pedantic at all...

But is it "an internet" or is it "the internet" (sometimes capitalized and sometimes not).

Strictly speaking, anytime two or more networks are connected, it is "an internet". So if you have a network of things at home that connects to the cell phone network, you have, by definition, an internet. Since many of the things we think of connecting together, such as a modern car, are already a network in their own right, you get interconnected networks almost immediately without even realizing it, whether or not "the internet" is ever touched.

 

Just to throw another thing into the ring...

The IEEE has produced a 70 page document entitled "Towards a Definition of the Internet of Things". Perhaps the most relevant section is right at the end where they state:

"In the last section of this chapter we emphasize that for a system to be considered as an IoT, the “things” so identified have to be connected to the Internet which is a network above an intranet or extranet"

This would appear to suggest that if the external internet connection is removed, it is no longer an IoT. In this case, the IEEE advocate the term Cyber Physical System, CPS.

Document here for those who are interested:
https://iot.ieee.org/definition.html

 

That is a useful tidbit. I haven't looked very deeply, but I don't know if Ashton's original intent absolutely required the Internet. From what I've seen of his vision of things, it could be met without the Internet, especially given the reach of the cellular network which was nowhere near as pervasive as when he coined the term in 1999. But concepts evolve and if the IEEE's definition becomes the accepted one, then the question has a clear cut answer accordingly.

 

Gut feeling for me on this one is you didn't want that job.

Internet of things are not internet of things without internet.
Internet of things can work without internet, but then they are not internet of things, just things.

You will be far happier not working for people who think everything is a language trick. Especially if you're an engineer.

 

The question that they asked you is a stupid question, and the answer that they gave you is a stupid answer. An IOT device can have a backup like GSM (SMS text messages to Monitor and control)

I do not have much knowledge about internet of things. But a month ago I bought the raspberry pi board and I started to work on it. I am looking for job. I attend interview whenever I get an job opportunity. I have done project where I can turn ON/OFF home light using internet. and I am also working on another project.

I attend interviewer because I can know what kind of question they asks and what should I prepare for internet of things. It is too difficult to get job as freshers. I know I don't have enough skills to get job right now but I am trying to improve my level best.

I have seen we can control any device using mobile phone. We just need to connect device GPS and GSM to device with microcontroller.

My question is that If we can monitor device by making mobile phone call or sending a message, Then why internet of things is more popular.

 

My question is that If we can monitor device by making mobile phone call or sending a message, Then why internet of things is more popular.

Because the cell phones we use nowadays are really IOT
It's a more connected type of thing now days.

You got wifi calling the phone can hop from tower to tower even wifi to wifi if it's open