Launching Soon: A Software Development Tool for Quantum Computers

Launching Soon: A Software Development Tool for Quantum Computers

In this blog, I am going to tell you about A Software Development Tool for Quantum Computers

The IDE that Horizon Quantum Computing is developing will enable programmers with experience in C and C++ to create quantum applications.

According to Dr. Joe Fitzsimons, a former academic physicist turned startup entrepreneur, creating software utilizing quantum computing is comparable to creating code for computers in the 1940s or creating code for Arpanet in the 1960s. It's still early, in other words. But he claims that the software development platform his business, Horizon Quantum Computing, is preparing to release will allow programmers skilled in languages like C and C++ to create quantum computing applications.

Quantum computing is now heavily dependent on hardware advances being made by companies like IBM and Google, as I've observed in prior pieces. IBM just unveiled the Osprey processor, which more than triples the 127 quits of the IBM Eagle processor from last year. Despite these remarkable advancements, we are still a long way from the 1,000 quit processors that IBM and other companies in the sector are aiming for. The point at which quantum computing will outperform classical computing in some use cases is known as the "quantum advantage" level.

Fitzsimons recognizes that the top goal in quantum computing is currently hardware development. He claimed that because of the current state of quantum computing, "we don't yet have hardware that can show a real benefit for real-world applications." He did point out that hardware is getting better every year and that his company is doing its part by creating a software platform to benefit from those advancements.

He stressed, "You need the software tools, and you need the development tools." "Even just the type of intellectual framework in terms of how to think about exploiting quantum processes, such as effects of superposition and interference, to get an edge on practical issues. We're putting a lot of effort into trying to get to a point where doing that is simply because it's not at all obvious how to go about doing it.

·       A Platform for Abstractions

Fitzsimons listed C and C++ as examples of the classical programming languages that Horizon Quantum Computing is seeking to support. The platform will then translate that code into hardware instructions for the quantum computers. Fitzsimons asserts that it involves more than merely compiling code. To benefit from the potentially enormous speed gains on a quantum machine, their platform will also assist developers in optimizing their approach to the problem they are trying to solve.

Therefore, he continued, "what we're attempting to do is build a bridge between a problem and a solution accelerated on quantum technology." We're requesting that you provide us with a very specific description of your issue in the form of conventional code that, if your machines could execute it quickly, would provide a solution.

"Looking at how you can break apart the structure of the program, remodel it, and reconfigure it in such a manner that you get to components that are receptive to quantum speed" is what this optimization effort entails, he continued.

Developers will be able to select how "low-level" they want to go on the platform, which is still under development and hasn't yet been released. Fitzsimons predicted that there will be levels of abstraction.

According to your experience with quantum computing and the degree of detail you want to delve into, or how low a level you want to engage with the hardware, you may enter it at different levels of abstraction.

·        Classiq vs. Horizon

There are other businesses besides Horizon making an effort to develop a quantum computing software platform. I wrote a profile on Classiq earlier this year since they are developing a comparable solution. Nar Miner, Classiq's co-founder, and CEO informed me about the company's development of a high-level functional model that can be converted into quantum assembly language in July. In this system, the circuit design is modeled by a developer using Python or VS Code, and Classiq's platform converts that model into actual circuit code. A top quantum computing processing service, such as Qi skit or Amazon Bracket, may then be used to operate it.

How does Fitzsimons' platform vary from Classiq's, I enquired. He retorted that "circuit templating," which uses "a lot of repeated components," is what Classiq does. His business is "going beyond that," he claims.

He said that rather than employing a pre-baked quantum code, "we're essentially rewriting from an entirely classical program."

Although Horizon's strategy seems ambitious, it's crucial to remember that it hasn't yet been implemented, whereas Classiq is a solution that is now in production. According to Fitzsimons, his business is in the "pre-launch" stage and has "some R&D contracts where there is some amount of access." Early next year, Horizon hopes to release a sample of its IDE [integrated development environment].

·        Cases of Use

I questioned Fitzsimons about the use cases he hoped the developers who signed up would take on utilizing quantum computing, assuming the launch sometime next year is successful.

The businesses that depend on high-performance computing or are constrained by computing capability are the most obvious ones, he said. As early use cases, he pointed out that other businesses in the field have concentrated on overcoming financial, optimization, or chemistry-related issues in the pharmaceutical sector (and indeed, all of those were mentioned as use cases in my interview with Ionq and GE Research back in July). However, he believes there are other possibilities.

The challenges in many other areas, he continued, "have the appropriate flavor to be susceptible to quantum speed-up, even if there are not necessarily well-studied solutions for them right now. He included the aerospace and automotive industries, computational geophysics, the energy industry, and sectors where "you would expect to see a substantial quantum speed-up."

Fitzsimons stated that issues like computational fluid dynamics, which are frequent in the aerospace and automobile industries, are "challenging on traditional computers," adding that this is "why wind tunnels still exist." He believes that some of these issues may be solved by quantum computers in the future.

·        Moving forward

Since Horizon's abstraction platform isn't yet widely usable, it's too soon to say how effective it will be. Additionally, much like computers in the 1940s, innovative firms like Horizon and Classiq are likely to make a lot of mistakes before a common SDK for quantum computing emerges. Nevertheless, 2023 appears to be a turning point in the development of quantum computing software, with major improvements in both hardware and software probable.

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