Unexpected Player Joining Quantum Race

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The competition over the supremacy at the quantum computers market is accelerating. A new quantum computer defined as the world’s most powerful one has been built by Honeywell. Thanks to a breakthrough in technology, this quantum computer will have a quantum volume of at least 64, twice that of the next alternative in the industry, the company claims.

While all eyes were on IBM and Google, which last year knocked heads over quantum supremacy, Honeywell has been working quietly on quantum tech that it plans to make available to clients via the internet in the next three months.

The firm claims its computer will be twice as powerful as IBM’s machine, Q System One, when it launches, although that particular claim is likely to be contested, assesses technologyreview.com. 

Most quantum computers, including those being developed by IBM and Google, are built around superconducting qubits, which use supercooled circuits. Honeywell’s quantum computer uses a different technology, called ion traps, which hold ions — the computer’s qubits — in place with electromagnetic fields. Superconducting quantum chips are faster, but ion traps are more accurate and hold their quantum state for longer.

The company’s vast experience in high-precision sectors such as defense and aerospace, including working with vacuums and cryogenics, is likely to have played a big part in its efforts to build a quantum computer.