2026
Black Hole Finder in international media
Covered by Space.com, Gizmodo, TechRepublic, The Verge, and the front page of NRC.
Press
Smartphone science since 2012
We turn smartphones into scientific instruments
In 2012 a hundred thousand people used our first app to watch Venus cross the sun, and we understood something: people do not want to watch science, they want to do it. Everything we have built since starts there. School children measuring the air better than satellites. Farmers reading their own water. Night owls measuring the night sky. If you have something worth measuring, we build what makes it possible.
Every dot is a live contribution to science. Thank you
Realtime data from our servers
Our platforms
Products & Projects
Our own instruments are the portfolio: every one of these turns commodity hardware into a working measurement system. This is what we build, and what we can build for you.
Trusted by leading research institutions
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Hardware + software
Not just apps. We provide calibrated sensors validated by research labs.
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Fixed-price sprints
A working app, not a report. Scoped up front, from €5,000. Quotes also fit grant budgets.
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Long-term partnership
12+ years supporting projects. We're partners, not vendors.
Our story
It started with the Transit of Venus
Venus crossed the sun on June 5, 2012, and will not do it again until 2117. We built an app so anyone could be part of that moment, and a hundred thousand people joined in a single week. It told us everything: given a real instrument, people will do real science. That conviction has carried our tools to Arctic expeditions and Zimbabwean farms, into the hands of ten thousand school children whose air measurements outperformed satellites, and into measurement campaigns alongside people from NASA and Plankton Planet. The phone in your pocket was always a laboratory. We unlock it.
Transit of Venus, 2012
100k+
Downloads in one week for our first app. People want to do science.
iSPEX across Europe
10,000
School kids measured air quality with their phones and outperformed satellites
In good company
Global
We have measured alongside people from NASA, Plankton Planet, and research labs worldwide
What we do
Citizen science & research tools
From large-scale projects engaging millions to professional sensors for institutions. We make science accessible to everyone.
Environmental monitoring
Mobile apps for water quality, air pollution, and light pollution. Verified data collection for citizen science projects.
Join projectsCommunity science
Join 10,000+ citizen scientists in research-grade data collection. Participants become co-authors on peer-reviewed publications.
Astronomy apps
Participate in black hole discovery and astronomical research. Citizen scientists become co-authors on research publications.
Join astronomy research
Partnerships
Horizon Europe research consortium partner
Trusted partner in European research initiatives, bringing citizen science expertise to cutting-edge projects.
Cos4Cloud H2020
Consortium partner in the Cos4Cloud project, developing co-designed citizen science services for biodiversity and the environment.
Learn moreMonocle H2020
Consortium partner in the Monocle-H2020 project, focusing on advanced monitoring techniques. Our smartphone sensor technology democratizes environmental monitoring.
Explore projectThe same team now builds apps for businesses
We proved the craft in EU research consortia: smartphone sensing, classification pipelines, field data. Now we deploy it commercially. Bring us your measurement problem.
Work with us
News
Latest updates
Jun 2026
New: we build apps for organizations
The team behind iSPEX and Black Hole Finder now builds measurement and classification apps for clients. Rocket science under the hood, fixed price. Bring us your problem.
ServicesJul 2025
Pocket Science signs MoU with Leiden University and Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Strategic memorandum of understanding signed with two leading research institutions for water quality monitoring and spectropolarimetry research.
PartnershipJan 20, 2026
iSPEX Officially Validated for Water Quality Monitoring
Plymouth Marine Laboratory has officially validated iSPEX for water quality measurements, delivering research-grade water reflectance data.
ResearchJan 10, 2026
Black Hole Finder 2.0: New Backend, In-App Chat, Performance Upgrades
Major update brings rebuilt backend infrastructure, real-time in-app chat, and significant performance improvements.
Product
Team
About the founders
Norbert Schmidt
"I build tools that bridge the gap between complex science and everyday users."
Entrepreneur and technology innovator with deep experience in scientific applications. Creator of iSPEX, Dark Sky Meter, and Black Hole Finder. Featured at TEDx with research publications in Optics Express and Geophysical Research Letters.
Joep van der Heiden
Co-founder bringing research methodology expertise.
Background in psychological research. Provides crucial insights into user behavior and scientific methodology, ensuring our citizen science applications are both scientifically rigorous and user-friendly.
kairos.coach
Beyond citizen science, we also build tools for daily life. An AI-powered fitness coach that adapts to your mood, energy, and weather.
Try Kairos CoachHave something to measure, observe, or classify?
We build working measurement and classification apps for businesses, agencies, and research teams: fixed price, scoped up front, delivered in weeks. Quotes also fit grant applications.
Typical response within 24 hours. We provide detailed quotes suitable for grant applications.
Send us a message
Get in touch
Email: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +31 45 20 31 008
Pocket Science is a trademark of DDQ B.V.
Kloosterweg 1, 6412 CN Heerlen, Netherlands
VAT: NL854887094B01 | KvK: 65417739
For institutions
Custom deployments - White-label solutions for your research program
Data hosting - Secure, GDPR-compliant data management
Hardware kits - Calibrated sensors with documentation
Training - Methodology workshops for your team