Quantum News Briefs November 2: Finnish quantum computer HELMI integrated with supercomputer LUMI for hybrid computing projects; Trading house Sumitomo aims to bring ColdQuanta’s quantum sensor to Japan; Arizona State University Launches Quantum Collaborative + MORE
Quantum News Briefs November 2 begins with Finnish quantum computer HELMI integrated with supercomputer LUMI for hybrid computing projects” followed by “Trading house Sumitomo aims to bring ‘quantum sensor’ to Japan”. Next is ASU’s launch of the “Quantum Collaborative” & MORE.
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Finnish quantum computer HELMI integrated with supercomputer LUMI for hybrid computing projects
Finland is one of the few countries worldwide that has connected a quantum computer and a supercomputer. Finland’s first quantum computer, the 5-qubit HELMI hosted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland became operational in 2021. The LUMI supercomputer, hosted by CSC in Europe’s greenest HPC facility, also started its operations in 2021.
The successful connection of HELMI and LUMI paves the way to a future where quantum computers and traditional high-performance computers work together, solving those most difficult of problems that neither can solve alone. Integrating HELMI with LUMI enables hybrid computing projects and boosts the development of the required quantum algorithms and software. From here, an understanding about the potential of this technology for solving real-world use-cases will arise.
“VTT wants to do applied research using the quantum computer and learn more about these possibilities,” said Pekka Pursula, Research Manager at VTT. “We see great potential in quantum computing for accelerating innovation for the benefit of companies and the whole society. We will continue to build bigger and more powerful quantum computers, which will also become available for users through the same gateway.”
“LUMI is now the most powerful quantum-enabled supercomputing infrastructure in the world, in addition to being a leading platform for artificial intelligence. This means that we have all the drivers of the future of computing seamlessly integrated and ready to be utilized,” commented Pekka Manninen, Director of LUMI.
The Finnish Quantum-Computing Infrastructure, supported by the Academy of Finland and NextGenerationEU is a central part of the vibrant quantum technology ecosystem in Finland. FiQCI aims at providing true quantum-acceleration of research and development. The connection between HELMI and LUMI is the first major milestone on this road. A 20-qubit quantum computer is currently under development at VTT, with a 50-qubit upgrade planned for 2024. Beyond this point, the complexity of quantum computers surpasses the modelling capacity of even the largest supercomputers, marking the start of a new era of science. VTT, CSC, and Aalto University are also seeking global strategic partnerships to promptly usher in the quantum age.
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Trading house Sumitomo aims to bring ‘quantum sensor’ to Japan
Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. plans to bring a “quantum sensor” to the Japanese market according to staff writers for the November 1 Nikkei edition. The technology, developed by U.S. startup ColdQuanta is expected to provide extremely accurate location data without relying on GPS. Quantum News Briefs summarizes the article below.
Sumitomo is looking to invest in ColdQuanta by taking a stake of several percent in the company. It also holds the rights to sell the startup’s sensors in Japan. A quantum sensor can theoretically make measurements up to 1,000 times more accurately than conventional sensors.
Sumitomo will bring to market the technology, which is now being developed by ColdQuanta, according to a person familiar with the matter. The startup is working to commercialize quantum sensing technology within a few years.
The technology is expected to provide position information accurate to a few centimeters, which would be a boon to autonomous driving in areas where GPS signals are not available. A quantum sensor can theoretically make measurements up to 1,000 times more accurately than conventional sensors.
Sumitomo expects the technology to find applications in the national security field as well, and is looking to sell the technology to both the public and private sectors
ColdQuanta is developing a sensor that is small enough to be held in one hand. The company is exploring various applications for the technology, including use in drones and submarines. A quantum sensor can theoretically make measurements up to 1,000 times more accurately than conventional sensors.
Click here to read original Nikkei article.
Arizona State University Launches Quantum Collaborative
Arizona State University has launched the Quantum Collaborative, a major 21st century initiative poised to profoundly impact society and the American economy with new discoveries and applications in advanced quantum technology. Quantum News Briefs summarizes the November 1 Newswise announcement below:
The Quantum Collaborative is a broad endeavor consisting of a community of companies, academic institutions, startups and initiatives cooperating across several strategic areas to deliver incremental advances across the emerging quantum technology landscape, as well as develop training and education for the future quantum workforce.
The Quantum Collaborative’s founding industry partners include:
Along with industry partnerships, the Quantum Collaborative is forging connections with leading academic institutions. Founding academic partners include:
ASU will also operate as a Hub within the IBM Quantum Network, a global community of Fortune 500 companies, academic institutions, startups and national labs with cloud access to IBM’s premium quantum computers, experts and resources. Organizations can join ASU’s Hub as members to draw on IBM’s quantum technology and resources to advance quantum computing research. The first members to join ASU’s IBM Quantum Hub are Purdue University and Virginia Tech
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Lockheed Martin and CUbit Quantum Initiative formalize quantum partnership
The University of Colorado Boulder’s CUbit Quantum Initiative has announced Lockheed Martin as the latest industry quantum leader to become a CUbit Innovation Partner. Quantum News Briefs summarizes the news announcement below.
Lockheed Martin joins Atom Computing, ColdQuanta, Maybell Quantum, Meadowlark Optics, Octave Photonics, SPIE and Vescent in participating in CUbit’s partnership program.
This new quantum focus in the research alliance between Lockheed Martin and CU Boulder represents the latest extension of this longstanding, wide-ranging relationship, which was expanded when the organizations entered into a Master Research Agreement in 2019.
The quantum partnership builds on foundational quantum sensing research at CU Boulder, which hosts one of the National Quantum Initiative Act’s university quantum centers, Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering, or Q-SEnSE.
Lockheed Martin is sponsoring two projects led by CU Boulder researchers. One is focused on combining optical tweezers with established capabilities in quantum science and information processing with quantum simulation in Adam Kaufman’s lab. The other project, in James Thompson’s lab, aims to engineer many-body quantum states to enable next-generation interferometers to outperform traditional systems. The CUbit partnership is an important investment in technology areas that will further strategic capabilities for Lockheed Martin.
The CUbit Innovation Partners program is a vital component of CU Boulder’s commitment to cultivate beneficial collaborations with quantum-intensive enterprises. These strategic partnerships are providing real-world opportunities for CU Boulder students, postdocs and researchers, while expanding and accelerating the university’s quantum efforts across the board.
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Sandra K. Helsel, Ph.D. has been researching and reporting on frontier technologies since 1990. She has her Ph.D. from the University of Arizona.
