IBM made its Quantum Computing project available to access by the public today. To increase awareness around the nascent technology, IBM has devised a simple web interface that enables access to one of IBM’s Quantum processors.
IBM has announced that anyone requiring to crunch large amounts of data could use the new Quantum Computing project. The company would alter permitted access to the user depending on how well versed he/she was with Quantum technology according to Jerry Chow- Manager IBM Quantum Computing.
Where traditional computing relies on small transistors resting on silicon chips that are powered on an off to encode data, Quantum Computing technology relies on Quantum bits (qubits) to process information, regardless of being on or off, increasing versatility and processing speeds manifold.
Although the technology is in its developmental stages, that promise of Quantum Computing outweighs that of traditional computing on many frontiers. If perfected, Quantum Computing can help scientists and researchers better tackle diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.
IBM’s Quantum processor is situated at Yorktown Heights in New York and as mentioned can be accessed over a web interface. The processor lies in a state of refrigeration where temperatures are maintained well below zero. The interface allows users to process their data with the Quantum processors 5qubits by building their algorithms.
A snapshot of the web interface displays tabs for ‘User Guide’, ‘Composer’ and ‘My Scores’. Chow says that they wish to have everyone see how to build an algorithm where even a 17-year old would eventually be familiar with the concept.
When David Cory tested IBM’s Quantum project, he found that it did return accurate results at least more than one-third of the attempted times. David Cory is currently Canada Excellence Research’ Chair for Quantum Information Processing.
According to him, IBM has given the people something real to play with, and it will bring them closer to Quantum computing by increasing awareness about the technology.
