IBM Introduces first quantum computing systems for commercial use

IBM has finally introduced first quantum computer for commercial use.

Finally, IBM released the world's first quantum computer at CES 2019 designed for commercial and general scientific use.

IBM aims to bring the power of quantum computing to solve real world challenges that classical computer struggles to solve.

IBM anticipates that Q systems One will be harness to model financial data in ways we have never seen before, incorporating many more risk factor from around the world to facilitate better investments. The hope is to prevent the kinds of unknown but predictable events that can wreak havoc on markets so-called Black Swan events like the 2008 Financial Crisis that sent the world into Great Recession.

Predicting these events are kind of analytical challenge that is impossible for classical computing but with quantum computing is uniquely adept at solving. In addition IBM system One hopes to solve the kind of logistics and supply chain optimization challenges that can take most advanced classical supercomputer the lifetime of the Universe to solve.

Design of the Q System One 

IBM Q System One, a 9-foot wide cube of glass and steel, builds off design philosophy that IBM uses in its Mainframe and other systems. Featuring modular design, many different components come together to make it possible. Special hardware had to be designed to stabilize and automatically recalibrate the system in order to provide repeatable and predictable qubits, a key hurdle that earlier quantum computers have struggled with.

Given the nature of the qubit, we cannot watch them work, we can only see the inputs and the results, so repeatability and predictability are often used as benchmarks for the quality of a quantum system.

In fact, it is often the only way for anyone to tell that a quantum system is actually doing something and isn’t just spitting out random values.

IBM also engineered compact, high-precision electronics in order to allow for precise control of large sets of qubits, allowing for more complex computational tasks, as well as engineering the kind of cryogenic environment necessary to isolate the qubits from interference from the outside.

All of this is made accessible through the cloud in a secure fashion, creating a hybrid environment for the implementation and execution of quantum computing algorithms.