Applications of Computing and Emerging Technologies
What the examiner tests
Matching a technology to its use, and explaining one application in two or three sentences with an Indian example.
Core areas
- AI and machine learning: systems that learn patterns from data - spam filters, voice assistants, recommendation engines, medical image screening.
- IoT: everyday objects with sensors and network connectivity - smart meters, fitness bands, smart agriculture.
- Cloud computing: computing resources delivered over a network. IaaS gives virtual machines and storage, PaaS gives a development platform, SaaS gives ready software (Gmail, Google Docs, SWAYAM).
- Big data: very large, fast, varied datasets analysed for patterns.
- Blockchain: a distributed, tamper-evident ledger; the base of cryptocurrencies and some land-record pilots.
- Other: AR/VR in education and training, robotics and drones in agriculture and disaster response, 3D printing for prosthetics, GIS and remote sensing in mapping.
- e-Governance and services: DigiLocker, e-District, UPI/BHIM digital payments, eSanjeevani telemedicine, SWAYAM e-learning.
Worked example
A school wants to run an online class and store notes without buying servers. Using a video-conference service and Google Drive is SaaS: the school uses finished software over the Internet and pays per user or uses a free tier. If the school instead rented virtual machines and installed its own learning-management software, that would be IaaS. Building on a provider’s runtime with pre-installed tools would be PaaS.
Traps
- Saying “the cloud is the Internet” - the cloud is services delivered over the Internet.
- Calling any automated machine “AI” - automation follows fixed rules; ML learns from data.
- Confusing AR (overlays digital content on the real view) with VR (replaces the view).
- Giving a definition without the application the question asks for.