The BOINC (Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing) project is a distributed computing platform created in 2002 at the University of California, Berkeley. In its early years, it gained a lot of popularity thanks to SETI@Home, a project that allowed users to collaborate in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence by analyzing data from radio telescopes.
While SETI@Home became a benchmark for distributed computing, BOINC has attempted to expand its reach. Now, anyone can collaborate from home using their computer to contribute to scientific research in a variety of areas such as medicine, physics, and climatology.
By participating in the BOINC project, you will not only contribute to different fields of science, but you will also get to know users from universities, schools or institutions around the world. In addition, you will have access to news and progress of the project and the possibility of making donations.
BOINC also offers you the possibility of receiving a certificate for your participation and constant contribution. This certificate, endorsed by North American universities and institutions, is an excellent opportunity to improve your CV. In fact, the contributions you make will be reflected in the digital certificate, which you can download at any time from the website of the project in which you participate.
Of course, each project in BOINC has its own website for user management and general information, but they are all coordinated through the BOINC software. This will be your main link to start collaborating on scientific projects from the comfort of your home.
How to use the BOINC project
To participate in the BOINC project, you can do so from your computer or mobile device, and the best thing of all is that it adapts to different versions of operating systems. The first thing you must do is open the client software by entering the link https://boinc.berkeley.edu/download_all.php. There you will find all the available programs and you must find the appropriate one according to the system you use, whether it is Apple Mac, Windows, Linux or even Android.
Once you find the file compatible with your operating system, proceed to install it. From there, you can begin participating in the different projects that BOINC offers.
Although it may seem complicated to use its functions at first, you will gradually become familiar with the tool. What’s more, it works quickly and doesn’t take up much space, which is a plus point for its use.
The first step after installing it is to add the project of your choice. You will find a button that says “Add project”. Currently, there are 35 projects available and you can participate in any ones you want. The system will show you the list of all the projects, classified into categories, which will help you find the area in which you think you can contribute the most knowledge.
When you select a project, you will see a description that explains what it is about, what systems it requires, and what areas of research they are working on. Some texts will be in Spanish and others in English, so keep that in mind.
When you find one you like, select it and the system will prompt you to register. You just need to provide your email and a password.
Afterwards, you will be asked for more details about yourself, such as your location, since the platform gives you the possibility of collaborating on joint projects with people from your same country or it can even connect you with people from your same university if someone else uses this platform.
Once you have created your profile, you will be ready to start receiving tasks. From the BOINC software you will see a menu of options where you can manage your profile, suspend tasks, set the status of not receiving tasks, restart the project, delete it or view general information about the project.
There is also a menu that allows you to access the official project page and discussion forums. Also, when you have tasks, you can see them in the main menu of the tool where all the guidelines are explained and you are given estimated times to solve the cases.
Some tasks are practical and others require more knowledge, although you don’t need to be a scientist to come up with ideas, as this system usually works with people of all educational levels.
