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Category: computing – Page 513

Introducing the largest quantum photonic processor to date

Quantum computers promise to propel computing far beyond what today’s computers are capable of, but this potential has yet to be realized. In their search for a way to demonstrate quantum supremacy, researchers working in the EU-funded PHOQUSING project are developing a hybrid computational system based on cutting-edge integrated photonics that combines classical and quantum processes.

The project’s goal is to develop a quantum sampling machine that will put Europe at the forefront of photonic quantum computing. With this goal in mind, PHOQUSING project partner QuiX Quantum in the Netherlands has created the largest quantum photonic processor compatible with (nanometer-sized semiconductor crystals that emit light of various colors when illuminated by ). The processor is the central component of the quantum sampling machine, a near-term quantum computing device able to show a quantum advantage.

“Quantum sampling machines based on light are believed to be very promising for showing a quantum advantage,” reports a news item posted on the QuiX Quantum website. “The problem of drawing samples from a , mathematically too complex for a classical computer, can be solved easily by letting light propagating [sic] through such quantum sampling machines. At the very core of quantum sampling machines there are large-scale linear optical interferometers, i.e. photonic processors.”

Meta’s next VR headset is coming in October

Mark Zuckerger has confirmed on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that Meta will be releasing its next virtual reality headset in October. While he didn’t mention a product name, he described a device that’s consistent with previous reports about the headset that’s codenamed “Project Cambria.” He said the company will likely launch it around its annual Connect event, which took place in late October last year.

According to a previous report by The Information, Reality Labs employees described the new headset as “laptop for the face” or “Chromebook for the face.” It will reportedly have outward-facing cameras enabling mixed-reality experiences. Also, the publication said back then that it will have the capability to allow users’ avatars in the metaverse to mirror their expressions and to show where they’re looking in real life.

As The Verge notes, Zuckerberg has also confirmed those features during his guesting. He said the headset’s features allow some kind of eye contact in virtual reality and that it will be able to translate users’ expressions in real time to their avatars, whether they’re smiling, frowning or pouting.

From bits to p-bits: One step closer to probabilistic computing

Tohoku University scientists in Japan have developed a mathematical description of what happens within tiny magnets as they fluctuate between states when an electric current and magnetic field are applied. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Communications, could act as the foundation for engineering more advanced computers that can quantify uncertainty while interpreting complex data.

Classical computers have gotten us this far, but there are some problems that they cannot address efficiently. Scientists have been working on addressing this by engineering computers that can utilize the laws of quantum physics to recognize patterns in . But these so-called quantum computers are still in their early stages of development and are extremely sensitive to their surroundings, requiring extremely low temperatures to function.

Now, scientists are looking at something different: a concept called probabilistic computing. This type of computer, which could function at , would be able to infer potential answers from complex input. A simplistic example of this type of problem would be to infer information about a person by looking at their purchasing behavior. Instead of the computer providing a single, discrete result, it picks out patterns and delivers a good guess of what the result might be.

How the Five National Quantum Information Science Research Centers harness the quantum revolution

The NQISRCs integrate state-of-the-art DOE facilities, preeminent talent at national laboratories and U.S. universities, and the enterprising ingenuity of U.S. technology companies.

As a result, the centers are pushing the frontier of what’s possible in quantum computers, sensors, devices, materials and much more.

Mark Zuckerberg thinks ‘normal people’ won’t want Neuralink chips in their brains soon, but sees a future where people text their loved ones

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg outlined the company’s approach to neural interface technology — tech which lets you control technology with your mind — in an interview on podcast The Joe Rogan Experience.

Zuckerberg said Meta is researching neural interface tech as part of its push into the metaverse.

He said the company is primarily focused on tech which can receive signals from the brain but does send any information back to it.

Physicists entangle more than a dozen photons efficiently

Physicists at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics have managed to entangle more than a dozen photons efficiently and in a defined way. They are thus creating a basis for a new type of quantum computer. Their study is published in Nature.

The phenomena of the quantum world, which often seem bizarre from the perspective of the common everyday world, have long since found their way into technology. For example, entanglement: a quantum-physical connection between particles that links them in a strange way over arbitrarily long distances. It can be used, for example, in a quantum computer—a computing machine that, unlike a conventional computer, can perform numerous mathematical operations simultaneously. However, in order to use a quantum computer profitably, a large number of entangled particles must work together. They are the for calculations, so-called qubits.

“Photons, the particles of light, are particularly well suited for this because they are robust by nature and easy to manipulate,” says Philip Thomas, a doctoral student at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching near Munich. Together with colleagues from the Quantum Dynamics Division led by Prof. Gerhard Rempe, he has now succeeded in taking an important step towards making usable for technological applications such as quantum computing: For the first time, the team generated up to 14 entangled photons in a defined way and with high efficiency.

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