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by Joe Spencer The UK government has released an approach to regulating quantum tech. It recognizes the immense potential of these innovations while acknowledging they are still in their early stages of development. Instead of rushing to impose rigid regulations, the government is opting for a nuanced approach, focusing on fostering responsible innovation, collaboration, and a sector specific regulatory model. Key Highlights Regulation by Application: Supporting tailored regulations to specific quantum technology applications, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. This flexible strategy allows sector regulators to use their expertise to oversee quantum tech within their domains, addressing unique risks and benefits. Collaborative [...]

Norwegian Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance, Karianne Tung, Minister of Defense, Bjørn Arild Gram, and Minister of Research and Higher Education, Oddmund Hoel have agreed to allocate NOK 70 million annually for quantum technology research as part of the state budget. They launched the initiative at OsloMet's Quantum Hub. Hoel highlighted the urgency for advanced data processing, while Tung emphasized quantum tech's potential in addressing societal challenges like climate change and medicine. Gram stressed the importance of secure communication as quantum tech develops. OsloMet's Rector, Christen Krogh, praised the initiative and highlighted OsloMet's leading role in the field. A news [...]

The University of Queensland (UQ) has secured over $29 million through the Queensland Quantum and Advanced Technologies Strategy to spearhead global development in quantum technologies. UQ’s ten projects will use quantum tech for decarbonization, computing, athlete performance, concussion diagnosis, and anti-doping tests. The funding will also provide 47 postgraduate scholarships and include $10 million for establishing the Queensland Quantum Decarbonisation Alliance to address carbon emissions. A news release with a description of each of the projects has been posted by UQ on their website and can be accessed here. October 5, 2024

Click on the picture to listen to the podcast Google has introduced an experimental personalized research assistant tool called NotebookLM. This tool can take written text, interpret it, and translate it into speech. So as a test we fed into a recent QCR article titled AWS Describes an Error Correction Experiment Performed with Cat Qubits and asked it to create a podcast discussion out of the material. If you click on the picture above you can listen to the 11 minute podcast and see how it interpreted the Cat Qubit story we published last week. Quantum researchers will note that some [...]

by David Shaw Political renewal is evolving priorities in Europe, inside and outside the EU. The opening of IBM’s first Quantum Data Center in Europe signals a new phase in quantum competition. Speaking at the launch of the new center, Olaf Scholz issued a rallying cry for those focused on building a quantum future based on collaboration and competition rather than national silos. How does Europe stand in the quantum race? The Need for Growth The vagaries of short term hype cycles aside, a wave of new technologies stand poised to define 21st century economies. The list varies: AI, quantum, bio-engineering, [...]

Error Correction Circuit Used by AWS using 5 Data Qubits and 4 Ancilla Qubits. Credit: AWS In a quantum computer there are two basic types of errors that can occur, bit-flips and phase-flips. Conventional quantum error codes, like the surface code, need to be designed to correct both types of errors. In a cat qubit based architecture, the bit flips are greatly reduced by the hardware architecture that used so that the error correction codes only need to correct for phase flips. A key advantage of this approach is that it could significantly reduce the number of physical qubits needed to [...]

Figure. Hurricane Helene, as it made landfall 26 September 2024 in Big Bend, Florida. The central portion of the hurricane is about 500 km in diameter. The composite satellite image by Dakota Smith, is overlayed with Saturn's moon Enceladus (also ~500 km in diameter) by Paul Byrne to show the hurricane’s scale. See a different perspective of this massive hurricane from the International Space Station, courtesy of NASA. By Amara Graps The Forecasts Hurricane Helene was forecast to be one of the largest hurricanes in years to hit the region; only three since 1988 were larger. The US Air Force Reserve [...]

The 2024 Quantum Open Source Software Survey being conducted by the Unitary Fund is now available and they are seeking your input. It will cover topics including demographics, experience, community, research, and tech stacks. This annual survey is a chance for everyone in quantum computing to add their voice to the development of our field to share feedback, state their needs, and take part in shaping the future of the quantum computing ecosystem. The survey will be taking inputs through the end of October. Later this year, the anonymized results will be shared publicly and provide everyone a better understand of [...]

This contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) will cover a four year period and will focus on research for creating hardware that can scale, network, and deploy multiple quantum systems. Part of the company's strategy is to scale larger quantum systems by using photonic networking and optical switching technologies to connect multiple computing modules together. It is the largest quantum contract awarded in the U.S. in 2024. Specific technologies included in this research include down conversion to convert the wavelengths of light used internally inside a quantum computer to a different wavelength more compatible with standard telecommunications equipment [...]