Quantum computer builder D-Wave is set to deploy a D-Wave 2X System at NASA’s Ames Research Center. NASA, Google and USRA will jointly use the computer. Within the agreement, D-Wave will keep the system up-to-date for the next seven years.
For D-Wave it is the largest order in its history, the company writes on its site. The 2X system, which could use more than 1000 qubits, replaces the 500-qubit system D-Wave Two. Installed in 2013, D-Wave Two has given Google, NASA and the Universities Space Research Association the opportunity to explore the potential of quantum computing and especially how to approach it. Areas of research that the three have focused on in recent years have included complex problems related to search queries, speech recognition, scheduling and scheduling and understanding, air traffic control, robotic missions to other planets, and support tasks in space mission command centers.
Twenty percent of the computer’s usage time is allocated to the USRA. Within the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Laboratory Research Opportunity, universities can request time to run research projects for free on the D-Wave 2X system. However, the selection process for using the computer is competitive. Using the computer, the various organizations can also use each other’s knowledge and skills and collaborate with researchers from NASA, Google and other universities.
The focus of the research is mainly on investigating the benefits of using quantum computers to solve complex problems, such as optimization for solving problems from combinatorics. Artificial intelligence and machine learning issues are also explored, such as planning and scheduling space flights and software verification and validation.
Incidentally, D-Wave’s system is not a quantum computer in the traditional sense of the word, but is said to be based on quantum annealing. Scientists have been arguing for years about whether the Canadian company’s systems can really handle calculations faster than traditional systems. In a study by Science last year, the D-Wave machine showed no such quantum speedup.