IBM is allowing the public to access its quantum processor from the cloud. Through applying on their website, anyone could get rights to test out the only known quantum computer known to be in operation in the world. NASA, Google, and Microsoft are all reportedly looking into how they could utilize quantum computing and how to use it for the benefit of their companies.
Credit: IBM Research
Arvind Krishna, senior vice president and director of IBM Research in a statement: "This moment represents the birth of quantum cloud computing. Quantum computers are very different from today's computers, not only in what they look like and are made of but more importantly in what they can do. Quantum computing is becoming a reality and it will extend computation far beyond what is imaginable with today's computers."
The five-qubit quantum computer can be accessed over the internet which critics are saying would open a new window to the world that would figure out what quantum computing could be used for to improve the world.
TIME magazine recently published a list of theoretical uses for quantum computing:
- Safer airplanes
- Discover distant planets
- Win elections
- Boost GDP
- Detect cancer earlier
- Help automobiles drive themselves
- Reduce weather-related deaths
- Cut back on travel time
- Develop more effective drugs
Quantum computing might be the future of computing, especially for Internet of Things devices that need to be connected to a network and produce data and analytics. Quantum computing would make any data available at the click of a button. Data that would have taken days. months or years to access in the past.
Never before has a quantum computer been opened for widespread use by the public, so IBM's cloud-based operation will be a test drive for how the technology can be applied to the world. It is being named the IBM Quantum Experience and will allow the running of algorithms and will allow the use of individual qubits.
The quantum computer utilizes quantum theory and in turn stores information that way. It is faster than any computing system invented in the world today and can perform thousands of tasks at once.
Jay Gambetta, the manager of Theory of Quantum Computing and Information at IBM, spoke to Computerworld, said: "Since this open to the public, there is no organization or business that will have priority. There are several opportunities for material and drug design, optimisation, and other commercially important applications where quantum computing promises to offer significant value beyond what classical computers can offer."
