A new application from the University of Vienna and Samsung solves scientific problems by utilizing the processing power of your smartphone or tablet when it charges at night.
More specifically, PowerSleep, which is available for Android devices through the Google Play store, is activated when the phone is plugged in and when the user sets the alarm to go off in the morning. As long as there is a wireless network available, the device downloads research data and the processor takes over calculations for research related to -for example- genetics, biochemistry and cancer. Thus, when the application is running, the smartphone becomes part of the "Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing" (BOINC), a software platform of the University of Berkeley, which currently utilizes 60,000 PCs around the world. In addition, distributed work applications -like PowerSleep- allow research institutions that do not have enough resources to create improvised supercomputers, while users who agree to install the software are informed about how their devices are used and sometimes their names are included in published scientific studies.
Source: planet-greece.blogspot.com
