Communications of the ACM
IBM Taps Into Android Devices for Volunteer Computing Effort
IBM is using the University of California, Berkeley-developed Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) to enable Android device users to "donate" surplus computing power to science.
Credit: Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing
IBM recently announced that owners of Android-based smartphones and tablets can now "donate" surplus computing power from their devices to science.
To enable the devices to participate in the project, IBM is using the University of California, Berkeley-developed Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing (BOINC) application. Smartphones and tablets running BOINC will only perform calculations when they are being charged, when their battery life is above 90 percent, and when they are connected to Wi-Fi networks. The additional processing power from smartphones will contribute to IBM's World Community Grid and the Einstein@Home project.
As part of the Einstein@Home project, BOINC users will analyze data from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico, the world's largest radio telescope, searching for radio pulsars by detecting their pulsed electromagnetic wave emissions. BOINC users also will contribute to the FightAIDS@Home project, which is hosted on IBM's World Community Grid. The donated computing power will be used to help search for more effective AIDS treatments. IBM notes that more than 2.3 million computers used by more than 600,000 people and institutions from 80 countries have contributed power to projects on the World Community Grid.
From eWeek
View Full Article
Abstracts Copyright © 2013 Information Inc., Bethesda, Maryland, USA
No entries found