12 | New Scientist | 7 March 2020News
Quantum technologyDavid Adam Leah CraneSurprise contender enters
the quantum computing race
A COMPANY known for its
control systems for homes,
businesses and planes has built
a quantum computer. US-based
firm Honeywell says it has big
plans for the quantum future.
“You would have never
suspected Honeywell was
doing this,” says Tony Uttley,
president of Honeywell
Quantum Solutions. The
company has been working on
its plans for a decade, he says.
On 3 March, the firm
announced that customers will
be able to access its quantum
computer over the internet
within the next three months.
Like all the quantum computers
currently available, it will
probably be used to more easily
solve problems that involve
huge amounts of data, such
as optimising aeroplane routes.
It isn’t expected to outperform
ordinary computers yet.
Honeywell measures its
computer’s efficacy using a
metric coined by IBM called
quantum volume. This takes
into account the number of
quantum bits – or qubits – the
computer has, their error rate,how long the system can spend
calculating before the qubits
stop working and a few other
key properties.
IBM’s System Q One, its
first commercial device, has a
quantum volume of 16, which
the firm claims makes it the
world’s most powerful quantum
computer. According to Uttley,
Honeywell’s new computer had
a quantum volume of 16 when
the company began testing it
in January, but he says the firm
expects it to reach a quantum
volume of up to 64 when the
computer becomes available
for commercial use.While IBM’s computer used
20 qubits to reach a quantum
volume of 16, Honeywell’s uses
only four. This indicates that
Honeywell’s qubits are longer-
lasting with fewer errors than
IBM’s, but this kind of system
can be difficult to scale up.
Honeywell’s computer usestrapped ions – charged
particles held in place by
precise electromagnetic
fields – as its qubits. Many
other quantum computing
players, such as Google and IBM,
instead use superconducting
qubits, which are based on
supercooled electrical circuits.
Superconducting qubits are
easier to mass-produce and
can run calculations faster, but
trapped ions tend to be more
accurate and they have longer-
lasting quantum states.
Honeywell has also made
an ambitious promise: the firm
plans to add additional qubits to
its computer each year for the
next five years, increasing its
quantum volume by a factor
of 10 each time. “This is not
a science project for us,” says
Uttley. “We’re doing this because
we believe we can make that
step to value creation with a
useful quantum computer.”
It isn’t yet clear how
Honeywell’s computer will
compare with those already
available, says Scott Aaronson at
the University of Texas at Austin.
Several other companies already
have quantum computers, and
some have had a years-long
head start, he says.
Thanks to its longer-lasting
trapped-ion qubits, Honeywell
does have one thing that the
other firms don’t, says Uttley.
“We can stop the calculation,
take one qubit, ask ‘what are
you right now, are you a 1 or a
0?’ and change the rest of the
calculation based on that
answer,” says Uttley. “It’s like
putting an ‘if ’ statement in an
algorithm, and it’s something
that’s unique to us.” ❚A ROBOT that mimics obsessive-
compulsive disorder (OCD) could
help us understand the condition.
OCD involves obsessive worrying
that compels people to carry out
rituals like repeated handwashing,
and generates anxiety if they can’t
complete these compulsions.
Researchers recreated this in a
robot they programmed to achieve
three goals: “eat”, avoid bumping
into things and “groom”. The robot
eats by touching light patches on
the floor, replenishing its energy.
It grooms by going to, and bumping
into, a solid post – a behaviour that
causes damage and runs down its
energy if performed excessively.
To recreate a compulsive drive,
the robot’s target grooming level
was set beyond what it could
achieve, prompting the robot to
run out of energy 95 per cent of
the time (Computational Psychiatry,
doi.org/dnmw).
Treatment for OCD often involves
exposing someone to the things that
trigger their obsessive thoughts andpreventing them from responding.
In future, showing people with OCD
how the robot might improve may
help them accept such stressful
treatment, says Naomi Fineberg at
the University of Cambridge, one
of the robot team.
As someone with OCD, I am
concerned the robot’s quirks might
reinforce the idea that the condition
is all down to weird behaviours,
instead of distressing, obsessive
thoughts. We have been studying
people for years, though, so maybe
robots do have a role. ❚Honeywell’s
trapped-ion
quantum computerThe OCD
robot can be
programmed
to compulsively
bump into a postMental healthHONE
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16
The quantum volume of
Honeywell’s new computerCompulsive robot
could improve the
way we treat OCD