IBM presented a 433-qubit quantum processor, which it promotes as a breakthrough in the industry.
While still far below the power of what IBM hopes to achieve in the future – it plans to have a 4,000-qubit offering by 2025 – the Osprey quantum processor is more powerful than its 127-qubit Eagle predecessor.
“The new 433-qubit ‘Osprey’ processor brings us one step closer to the point where quantum computing will be used to solve previously unsolvable problems,” commented IBM Senior Vice President and Research Director Darío Gil.
The road ahead
Gil added that IBM will work with its partners around the world to advance the field in everything from software to hardware, in the hope that their efforts “prove fundamental to the coming era of quantum supercomputers.”
IBM’s plans for the future of quantum computing have already been laid out in some detail. Continuing with the avian nomenclature, it aims to release the 1,121-qubit Condor processor in 2023, followed by the 1,386-qubit Flamingo in 2024, before ending in 2025 with the 4,000-qubit Kookaburra.
Of course, there are problems with such a new and unexplored field. Currently, one of the main disadvantages of quantum computers is their extreme sensitivity, which means that they are not anywhere near as reliable as standard computers. A big problem is noise, where physical interference in the operation of the system can cause errors.
IBM hopes to remedy this with the latest version of Qiskit Runtime, which will allow developers to reduce the speed of their systems in favor of fewer bugs.
How they work
Quantum computers operate on the quantum principle that subatomic particles can be in two states at once. Current computer technology is based on digital binary notation, where each piece of data is represented in bits as either zero or one. A quantum computer, on the other hand, operates in quantum bits – or qubits – which can be both zero and one at the same time.
The advantage of this is that quantum computers are much faster in their calculations and are able to do so exploits which is not possible even with traditional computers.
- Since quantum systems won’t be entering our homes anytime soon, here are the best workstations you can get your hands on today