IBM Making Progress in Quantum Computing With Q Systems

IBM is showing progress in its quantum computing development efforts with the announcement of a 20-qubit processor and the introduction of the first customers who will have early access to the system.

Much has been written about IBM's efforts in emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, analysis, blockchain and the cloud, much of the company's broader strategy around what officials call "cognitive computing."

But IBM is also making significant investments in quantum computing, an area that has caught the attention of the tech giant in recent months.

IBM has continued to advance in this area throughout 2017; For example, the company launched IBM Q in March, a quantum computing environment accessible through the IBM Cloud platform and an API that allows Quantum Experience users to perform sophisticated experiments in the cloud-based quantum environment.


In November, IBM announced that the first Q systems available online will have a 20-qubit processor and that engineers will update the systems throughout 2018. They also said that IBM had created an operational 50-bit processor prototype, which will run the next generation of IBM Q Systems

Earlier this month, IBM unveiled the first dozen companies that will have early access to the supplier's Q Q quantum computing system. Those clients include financial services companies JPMorgan and Chase, automakers Daimler AG and Honda, Samsung and the Oak Ridge National Lab. The companies are part of IBM's new IBM Q Network and illustrate the wide interest of customers in computing quantum and the continuous drive to commercialize technology.

"We are currently in a period of history in which we can prepare for a future in which quantum computers offer a clear computational advantage to solve important problems that are currently insoluble," wrote Darío Gil, vice president of IA and IBM Q at IBM Research. a publication on the company's blog when the associated companies were announced.

"This is the 'quantum ready' phase," he wrote. " We all know the reasons why quantum computing has attracted so much enthusiasm. Despite the enormous progress we have made as a society with 'classic' computers, they simply do not have enough memory or processing power to solve historically insoluble problems. Quantum computers, which work with classic computers through the cloud, could be the answer for at least some of them, "Gil wrote.

IBM Q Network expands the "sphere of IBM collaborators with whom we will advance in quantum computing, from exploring practical business and scientific applications, to developing the tools necessary to make systems more accessible as they grow in power and performance", wrote Gil.

Quantum computing has been talked about for decades, promising systems that are multiple times faster than current supercomputers.

Organizations for many years have relied on faster CPUs and accelerators, including Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) and Advanced Micro Devices, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) such as Intel and Xilinx, and faster interconnections to accelerate workloads that take advantage of AI, machine learning and neuromorphic computing (systems that can mimic brain functions).

The qubits are at the heart of quantum computing. Current systems use bits that have values ​​of 0 or 1. But qubits -or quantum bits- can be 0 and 1 at the same time, which opens the possibility for systems to run through millions of calculations simultaneously and at high speeds and executing workloads that are too complex for current systems.

A growing number of world-class technology providers, including Google, Microsoft and Intel, are driving quantum computing initiatives, while smaller providers such as Rigetti Computing are also gaining traction. D-Wave, in which Google has invested, offers commercial quantum computers, although critics say they are not true quantum systems.

More recently, Microsoft announced in early December a free preview of its Quantum Development Kit, while Intel in October unveiled a 17-qubit processor. Rigetti presented Q19 this month, a quantum processor of 19 qubits.

National Security Research Analysts said in a report earlier this year that the quantum computing market will reach $ 10.7 billion by 2024, with $ 8.45 billion from sales and product services and $ 2.25 billion from programs funded by government.

However, it will not be an easy uprising. There are many challenges in quantum computing. For example, qubits are fragile and, although they can become entangled, since they share the same state with two or more qubits, they can revert to one of the two states if they are affected by an external factor, such as quantum noise.

That reversal can cause problems, such as data loss. Intel officials said that to reduce risk, qubits need to operate in extremely cold environments, about 20 millikelvin, or 250 times colder than in deep space, which imposes critical requirements on how qubits are packaged.

Gil, from IBM, in his blog post pointed out the work that still needs to be done in quantum computing, but he pointed to IBM Q systems as examples of what is being achieved now.

"It is true that much of what you have read about the promise of quantum computers will require fault tolerance, an objective that is probably still a decade or more away," he wrote. "But we believe that the initial signs of a computational advantage will be achievable with the short-term approximate quantum computers, which are now emerging."