D-Wave Unveils Higher-Performance 2000Q Quantum Processor
D-Wave today debuted a new processor for quantum computing. With lower noise (noise in quantum computing is also known as quantum decoherence or error rate), the D-Wave 2000Q processor boasts up to 25 times better performance than its predecessor. It takes advantage of D-Wave's new and improved quantum computing platform announced earlier this year and is available now.
In February, D-Wave announced a new quantum annealing platform with a new qubit topology, lower noise, a higher number of qubits (for future D-Wave quantum computers), as well as hybrid software and tools that the company said it would deliver by mid-2020.
[...] D-Wave said that its customers have developed more than 150 quantum applications for the D-Wave quantum computer in areas such as airline scheduling, election modeling, quantum chemistry simulation, automotive design, preventative healthcare and logistics. Some have also developed new tools to improve the application development process.
Previously: D-Wave Announces Availability of a ~2,000 Qubit Machine and a Customer for It
Google and NASA Still on Board With D-Wave, Upgrade to 2048 "Qubits"
NASA and Google Collaboration Turns on D-Wave 2000Q System
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D-Wave has announced the availability of the D-Wave 2000Q, a 2,000-"qubit" quantum annealer that it says can be used for optimization problems and machine learning. The first customer of the new machine will be Temporal Defense Systems Inc., a "cutting-edge cyber security firm". Aside from the boost in qubits, D-Wave is also touting faster annealing time and an "anneal offsets control feature":
Back in fall, last year, D-Wave announced its new 2,000-qubit quantum annealing computer that was up to 1,000 times faster than its previous 1,000-qubit computer. The company officially launched the new computer, as well as announced its first customer, Temporal Defense Systems, which is a cybersecurity company trying to use quantum computation to improve its security solutions.
"The combined power of the TDS / D-Wave quantum cyber solution will revolutionize secure communications, protect against insider threats, and assist in the identification of cyber adversaries and attack patterns," said James Burrell, TDS Chief Technology Officer and former FBI Deputy Assistant Director. "Combining the unique computational capabilities of a quantum computer with the most advanced cyber security technologies will deliver the highest level of security, focused on both prevention and attribution of cyber attacks," he explained.
The cost? $15 million.
Nature contends that some researchers have found uses for D-Wave's annealers, but there is a need for greater connectivity between the qubits.
D-Wave Press release, and new white papers.
Google, NASA, and Universities Space Research Association (USRA) run a joint research lab called the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (QuAIL). That partnership has used a 512-qubit D-Wave Two quantum annealer, upgraded to the 1,152-qubit D-Wave 2x, and is now upgrading again to the company's latest D-Wave 2000Q system (2048 qubits):
Google, NASA, and the USRA are now buying the latest generation D-Wave quantum computer, as well, to further explore its potential. The new D-Wave 2000Q is not just up to 1,000 times faster than the previous generation, but it also has better controls, allowing QuAIL to tweak it for its algorithms. QuAIL is now looking at developing machine learning algorithms that can take advantage of D-Wave's latest quantum annealing computer.
[...] D-Wave also announced that it will help the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) establish a quantum computing research center for defense and intelligence purposes. D-Wave's role will be to aid the Virginia Tech staff in developing applications and software tools for its quantum annealing computers. [...] Because D-Wave is not a universal quantum computer, like what Google and IBM plan to build over the next few years, it is not expected to be useful in cracking encryption. Virginia Tech plans to also focus on developing machine learning algorithms for the D-Wave computers.
Previously: Trees Are the New Cats: D-Wave Used for Machine Vision
The Universities Space Research Association has upgraded to a D-Wave system with 2,031 "qubits":
The Universities Space Research Association (USRA), as part of joint an ongoing joint collaboration with NASA and Google Inc. to operate a Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, has upgraded its current quantum annealing computer to a D-Wave 2000Q system. The computer offers the promise for solving challenging problems in a variety of applications including machine learning, scheduling, diagnostics, medicine and biology among others.
The newly upgraded system, which resides at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing Facility at NASA's Ames Research Center, has 2031 quantum bits (qubits) in its working graph–nearly double the number of qubits compared to the previous processor. It has several system enhancements that enable more control over the adiabatic quantum computing process allowing it to solve larger and more complex optimization problems than were previously possible.
According to Dr. David Bell, Director of the USRA Research Institute for Advanced Computer Science, "The Quantum AI Lab, in its first four years of operation, has supported diverse research by industry, academia and government research organizations. This has included research on the use of quantum computing for a range of applications including machine learning, planning and scheduling, diagnostics, medicine, biology, and finance."
"Computer time" will be offered free of charge to researchers.
Previously: Google and NASA Still on Board With D-Wave, Upgrade to 2048 "Qubits"
IBM and D-Wave Quantum Computing Announcements
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Friday May 17 2019, @11:16AM (2 children)
I'm skeptical of D-Wave. They behave like a typical for-profit corporation in which they exaggerate the performance, reliability, and feasibility of their ideas and products to the point that they are almost lying. They also promise the moon.
What is the largest composite number that they've factored with their quantum computers? Oh, they don't do general quantum computing, they only do annealing, and have so much trouble with quantum noise that their machine is no faster than a classic computer. So their "quantum" computer can't actually run Shor's algorithm any faster than a classical computer programmed to simulate qubits. The biggest number they've successfully factored is ... only 20 bits? Or perhaps they improved to 40 bits? That's a big fail. A recent, average speed PC can factor any 80 bit number in less than 1 second. Yet their marketing went as far as to suggest that not only can their machines perform quantum computing, but that they can use this to solve NP problems in polynomial time! They backed off from that claim, but they've been making claims of that sort for quite a while now. Just making extraordinary claims like that showed them as a bunch of confidence people who don't know what they're talking about.
25x "better performance", huh? Damned marketing speak. What does that even mean? Sounds like they don't mean 25x faster, or 25x more qubits. Maybe they mean 25x longer coherence?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Friday May 17 2019, @04:26PM (1 child)
I think we're too far into this for it to be a complete con. They've had big customers for years, and maybe people can try the cloud service.
The marketing speak describing it as a quantum computer is inaccurate, but Google and others are getting value out of the product. Possibly extreme value if you look at the list of applications they mention.
Shor's? Heck, we can be glad they haven't ruined RSA for everybody.
[SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 3, Interesting) by bzipitidoo on Friday May 17 2019, @05:00PM
Yes, I think it's a blend. They do have something real. But they also have hucksters who have wildly exaggerated what they have.
Industrial sales is quite different from the popular conception of sales as exemplified by the slimy used car salesperson. The flashy hard sell that's lots of hype and little substance is not a good way to approach industrial customers. The potential buyers are not idiots, and they're going to feel plenty insulted by an approach of that sort. There are also not that many buyers, maybe no more than a few hundred. It's highly likely not to be a one time sale. Got to build a relationship. If the seller cons the buyer, the buyer will eventually realize it, and remember.
The question is, what the heck is D-Wave doing even toying with those kinds of cheap sales tactics? Who do they think they're kidding? And isn't what they do have real enough?