From the Wikipedia entry:
"The Quake-Catcher Network was an initiative run by the University of Southern California that aimed to use computer-based accelerometers to detect earthquakes.[1] It used the BOINC volunteer computing platform (a form of distributed computing, similar to SETI@home).
It supported mobile devices (smartphones and some tablets/laptops) that have a built-in accelerometer.[2] It also supported three external USB devices - the codemercs.com JoyWarrior 24F8, the ONavi sensor, and the MotionNode Accel.[3]
In 2011, project scientist Elizabeth Cochran was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award from US President Barack Obama in large part due to her founding of the Quake-Catcher Network project.[4]
The Quake Catcher Network project started at Stanford University[2] in 2008,[5] then moved to Caltech,[6] and joined the Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology (IRIS) in 2016.[7]
The Quake-Catcher Network was discontinued on June 1st 2023[8]"