Chinese tech giant Baidu launched a self-developed quantum computer in Beijing on Friday.
In addition, it built a system enabling everyone to gain access to the quantum computer with any device, including a smartphone.
The computer has just 10 qubits, fewer units for quantum computing than more advanced systems built by China’s top universities and Western companies, such as Google and IBM.
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But China’s leading quantum scientist said there were high hopes for the new system because it was a brave first step towards bringing the futuristic technology out of the laboratory.
“We have already achieved superiority with the performance of quantum computers surpassing supercomputers on specific problems and further progress, such as programmable quantum computers, needs cooperation from industry leaders and academic researchers,” said Pan Jianwei, a leading quantum scientist with the University of Science and Technology of China.
“I’m glad to see investment from China’s enterprises promote exploration,” said Pan, who led the development of the world’s first quantum satellite, Mozi.
The quantum computer is called Qianshi and can be accessed by a Baidu app from the Apple, Huawei or Xiaomi stores. Users can download the software and send their own computing task, such as a quantum circuit experiment, to “Qianshi”.
The Baidu quantum computer uses superconducting materials to generate an extremely low temperature for the quantum processor unit, which is similar to a CPU in a traditional computer.
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The superconducting fridge cools the QPU to near absolute zero degree through a multi-cascade cooling system, so the coherent quantum bit is not affected by thermal noise caused by high temperatures.
“It is the world’s first integrated solution for both the hardware and software of quantum calculation,” said Duan Runyao, director of the Institute for Quantum Computing, Baidu.
“The system is accessible from PC, phones and cloud. While users could enjoy the convenience of the software framework provided by Baidu, they could choose a suitable hardware for their calculation,” he said.
For now, apart from the Qianshi QPU, two separate chips – from the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and the Innovation Academy for Precision Measurement Science and Technology – are also connected to the system.
The new system may accelerate fundamental research in this area, according to Duan.
“Integration, automation and visualisation are the main technical features. The system helps with the standardisation of daily operation, and the chip initialisation efficiency is improved at least 100 times for researchers,” he said.
Progress on hardware also provides opportunities for commercial and industrial users.
“In the past, we had limited options for hardware and some online services from the US were not open to Chinese researchers. We hope Baidu’s device will promote our research in the academic world,” said Ji Zhengfeng, an expert in quantum computing theory with Tsinghua University.
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Quantum computing has many applications. The classic computer, for instance, takes more than 100,000 years to solve the RSA public key password, a widely studied password algorithm. A fully functioning quantum computer in the future will only take 1 second to find the password, according to some estimates.
According to Duan, the industrial scale of quantum computing in the world will reach 800 billion yuan (US$116 billion) by 2031, and most large global enterprises will adapt quantum computing technology within a decade.
“In the future, when scientists use 100 qubits, problems in AI and portfolio optimisation could be solved. With 1,000 qubits, cryptographic security and chemical pharmacy will be possible. With 10,000 qubits, global weather forecasting and big data processing will become common,” Duan said.
More from South China Morning Post:
- China launches new satellite in ‘important step’ towards global quantum communications network
- China’s ‘father of quantum’ Pan Jianwei has ties to country’s defence industry, says US security firm
- ‘Angel particle’ mimics may be first step to reliable quantum computers
- NSA says ‘no back doors’ in its new encryption scheme designed to thwart quantum computing
- Quantum technology: how it works, applications and why the US and China are racing to achieve supremacy
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