Quantum computers are expected to transform many facets of science and industry over the next decade or so – but it’s very hard for most potential users to get their hands on one to find out what they can actually do with it. A new open-access facility opened in Queensland this week aims to change that.
Author
- Muhammad Usman
Head of Quantum Systems and Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO
The A$10.5 million National Quantum Computing Testbed is located at the University of Queensland and is a collaborative effort led by research teams from the university and CSIRO.
It will allow researchers from academia and industry to test new ideas on a real quantum processor in an affordable and fully open access environment. As such, it removes many of the barriers to innovation in this rapidly developing field.
From bits to qubits
Everyday classical computing, like the kind that runs our laptops or mobile phones, stores and processes data in the forms of bits. These are are binary numbers – for example, combinations of 0s and 1s. Each bit can be either 0 or 1 at any given time.
Quantum computing, however, stores and processes information as quantum bits – otherwise known as qubits. These exploit special properties of quantum physics to create what are known as ” superposition ” states.
At any instant each qubit can be 0 or 1, like a traditional bit – or it can be any combination of both 0 and 1 simultaneously, such as 30% 0 and 70% 1.
This will allow quantum computers to process certain kinds of very large datasets extremely fast . In turn, they could generate new discoveries which address challenging problems across various fields, from medicine and renewable energy to cybersecurity and urban design.
A quantum computing testbed for everyone
If you want to use a quantum computer today, you can do it through commercial cloud services which provide access via the internet. These include IBM Quantum Experience and AWS Braket .
These services are expensive. And because users can only send inputs and receive outputs, they get a limited understanding of how a quantum processor is operating. If something goes wrong, they may not know why.
This existing model limits the development and testing of new and creative ideas which are crucial for the emerging quantum computing industry. The absence of an openly available and easily accessible quantum computing facility has been a serious hurdle for the Australian industry and research communities.
The newly launched testbed facility is a first step in bridging the gap between early-stage innovation and commercial-scale opportunities. It will initially consist of a 5-qubit superconducting chip, with potential for upgrade in future. It’s integrated with state-of-the-art quantum software and simulation capabilities.
Being open access, the facility will provide some hands-on options to a wide range of end users. For example, university researchers will have access to low-level hardware to perform scientific experiments. Industry engineers will also have access to high-level software to test ideas for practical applications.
A global race
Governments around the world and large industry players are racing to develop a useful quantum processor.
The current generation of quantum computers offer only limited capabilities. This is due to their small number of qubits and relatively high noise levels, which reduce their capability to accurately perform useful calculations.
However, quantum processor technologies have seen a remarkable progress in the past few years. Large companies such as IBM and Google, as well as start-ups such as PsiQuantum and Diraq, have ambitious plans to build useful quantum computers within the next decade.
Building a large-scale quantum computer capable of solving useful practical problems may take a few more years. But testbed facilities, like the one launched in Queensland this week, can accelerate the development by enabling deeper understanding of their operation.
