IBM Opens Its Cloud-Based Quantum Experience Platform

IBM has opened access to its pilot project — the IBM Quantum Experience platform. In fact, this means online access to the quantum computer located in the research laboratory in the state of New York. The company expects that their project will help researchers throughout the world work on advancement of innovative technologies.

To gain access to the IBM computing power, you need to fill out an online form where you provide your name, email, organization, familiarity with quantum computing, and sign the license agreement. You’ll be able to work with the computer from any device, be this mobile or stationary.

Quantum computers operate on fundamentally different principles than classical computers, where all the information is coded in a sequence of bits (zero or one). While three classical bits transfer one of the eight values (two cubed), three qubits (quantum beats) can theoretically deliver all eight values. This means faster computation compared to classical PCs.

The IBM project is five-qubit. For comparison, a 50–100-qubit quantum computer can be equal in performance to the fastest modern supercomputers. One of the major challenges in creating such computing machines is to maintain the required low temperature. It’s colder in cooling systems of this computer than in the coldest outer space.

The company has developed a special programming language for the use of this computer. Read more about the project on the official company website.

Earlier, Google confirmed that D-Wave quantum computer really works.