Quantum Computer Built On Server Racks Paves the Way To Bigger Machines (technologyreview.com) 23
An anonymous reader quotes a report from MIT Technology Review: A Canadian startup called Xanadu has built a new quantum computer it says can be easily scaled up to achieve the computational power needed to tackle scientific challenges ranging from drug discovery to more energy-efficient machine learning. Aurora is a "photonic" quantum computer, which means it crunches numbers using photonic qubits -- information encoded in light. In practice, this means combining and recombining laser beams on multiple chips using lenses, fibers, and other optics according to an algorithm. Xanadu's computer is designed in such a way that the answer to an algorithm it executes corresponds to the final number of photons in each laser beam. This approach differs from one used by Google and IBM, which involves encoding information in properties of superconducting circuits.
Aurora has a modular design that consists of four similar units, each installed in a standard server rack that is slightly taller and wider than the average human. To make a useful quantum computer, "you copy and paste a thousand of these things and network them together," says Christian Weedbrook, the CEO and founder of the company. Ultimately, Xanadu envisions a quantum computer as a specialized data center, consisting of rows upon rows of these servers. This contrasts with the industry's earlier conception of a specialized chip within a supercomputer, much like a GPU. [...]
Xanadu's 12 qubits may seem like a paltry number next to IBM's 1,121, but Tiwari says this doesn't mean that quantum computers based on photonics are running behind. In his opinion, the number of qubits reflects the amount of investment more than it does the technology's promise. [...] Xanadu's next goal is to improve the quality of the photons in the computer, which will ease the error correction requirements. "When you send lasers through a medium, whether it's free space, chips, or fiber optics, not all the information makes it from the start to the finish," he says. "So you're actually losing light and therefore losing information." The company is working to reduce this loss, which means fewer errors in the first place. Xanadu aims to build a quantum data center, with thousands of servers containing a million qubits, in 2029. The company published its work on chip design optimization and fabrication in the journal Nature.
Aurora has a modular design that consists of four similar units, each installed in a standard server rack that is slightly taller and wider than the average human. To make a useful quantum computer, "you copy and paste a thousand of these things and network them together," says Christian Weedbrook, the CEO and founder of the company. Ultimately, Xanadu envisions a quantum computer as a specialized data center, consisting of rows upon rows of these servers. This contrasts with the industry's earlier conception of a specialized chip within a supercomputer, much like a GPU. [...]
Xanadu's 12 qubits may seem like a paltry number next to IBM's 1,121, but Tiwari says this doesn't mean that quantum computers based on photonics are running behind. In his opinion, the number of qubits reflects the amount of investment more than it does the technology's promise. [...] Xanadu's next goal is to improve the quality of the photons in the computer, which will ease the error correction requirements. "When you send lasers through a medium, whether it's free space, chips, or fiber optics, not all the information makes it from the start to the finish," he says. "So you're actually losing light and therefore losing information." The company is working to reduce this loss, which means fewer errors in the first place. Xanadu aims to build a quantum data center, with thousands of servers containing a million qubits, in 2029. The company published its work on chip design optimization and fabrication in the journal Nature.
Is this the first (Score:2)
time that a quantum copmuter has fit into a rack?
Re: (Score:3)
From the paper: "Although promising progress on the performance and function of many building blocks for both approaches has been reported, no complete photonic architecture has been experim
Energy efficiency? (Score:3)
Beyond a mention of "more energy-efficient machine learning", I didn't see anything in either of TFAs that hinted at this approach being more energy efficient than traditional processors.
Does anybody here know it there's potential here for significant energy savings - say, in the tens-of-percent or more? Could this substantially mitigate the energy disaster associated with AI, Bitcoin, and even just plain old doom-scrolling?
"It can easily scaled up to do X but..." (Score:1)
Hmmm.
Re: (Score:2)
Once you've built it, you don't need to brag. People will know.
Re: (Score:2)
Small problem: Actually building it would demonstrate that it does _not_ scale that way. As anybody that understands the first thing about QCs immediately can see. Hence they are not going to be building it, and chances are they will get stupid investors to give them money anyways.
More QC hype and vaporware (Score:2)
Drug Discovery? (Score:4, Interesting)
Different meaning (Score:2)
I've been doing "drug discovery" for 40 years.
I totally read that in a way that you probably didn't mean.
I think.
Did you mean to use the scare quotes?
Re: (Score:2)
As much as we all love our neighborhood chemist, beaker-sneaker-net will not out-pace a photon phrenzy in the long run.
Re: (Score:1)
If they take their own drugs, maybe they'll stop being snarly. Seriously, though, working with Sheldon Coopers itself is an art. We need them to tame the damned DOM/CSS. Whadda fuckstorm that "standard" is.
Re: (Score:2)
Indeed. But pushing a made-up fantasy can get you tons of money and claiming "drug discovery" is one of the tried-and-true ways to lie about what your useless (but expensive) shiny new box can do.
In what way is the racking relevant? (Score:2)
The computers take up multiple whole racks, so the fact that they're racks is completely irrelevant. They could just be cabinets, at that size there is no difference whatsoever. They're also not useful for anything no matter what size you make them, except extracting money from overstuffed budgets. (That's not nothing, but it is nothing useful as far as computing goes.)
Re: (Score:2)
It's more than that.
Aurora has a modular design that consists of four similar units, each installed in a standard server rack that is slightly taller and wider than the average human. To make a useful quantum computer, "you copy and paste a thousand of these things and network them together," says Christian Weedbrook, the CEO and founder of the company. Ultimately, Xanadu envisions a quantum computer as a specialized data center, consisting of rows upon rows of these servers.
So a quantum computer is thousan
Re: (Score:2)
No. That is not how QCs scale at all. In fact, they cannot scale that way.
"slightly taller and wider than the average human" (Score:1)
Queue non-standard-/rarely-used-measuring-unit jokes in III, 1+1, 10^0...
Re: (Score:1)
Both Cue (as it acting in a movie) and Queue (as in get in line for) are appropriate.
Call back after 1 year 24x7 uptime (Score:2)
Quantum computers need to show reliable uptime for a year first before the hype can be believed.
Re: (Score:2)
That depends on the application. Frequently one doesn't need a long period of uptime. But I'm dubious of anything that requires liquid helium cooling. (The summary didn't mention this, so I assume that it did, as most quantum computers do.)
That said, even then there are applications were a short uptime and liquid helium coolant are justifiable. Just not that many.
Re: (Score:1)
Down to 0.02K. IBM dilutes He3 into He4 to get there. They don't say what it costs.
Nope (Score:2)
Seriously, what is this stupid reporting? Quantum computers _cannot_ be divided and neither can quantum computations. You need to do everything in one "box". That is the reason why this tech will never amount to anything.