Accepting ‘Quantum Volume’ as a Metric for Quantum Computers
Why quantum volume is vital for plotting the path to quantum advantage
Key points…
+ Measuring the computational ability of quantum computers is—as is anything involving quantum systems—a complex problem. Counting the number of qubits in a quantum computer to determine computational power is too simplistic to be functionally useful—differences in how individual qubits are connected, how the qubits themselves are designed, and environmental factors make this type of comparison inequitable.
Quantum volume, a metric for measuring the computational ability of quantum computers, is gaining acceptance from Gartner (Image Credit: Gartner/IBM)
+ A standard for measuring the computational ability of quantum computers was proposed by IBM in 2017, called “quantum volume.” Quantum volume is measured by calculating the number of physical qubits, connectivity between qubits, and time to decoherence, as well as the available hardware gate set, and number of operations that can be run in parallel.
+ [A]t Gartner’s Catalyst Conference in San Diego, the research and advisory firm embraced the quantum volume benchmark as an important way of measuring progress toward quantum advantage—the point at which quantum computers are capable of performing a calculation demonstrably faster than traditional computers—and noted the importance of quantum volume in planning for adoption of quantum computers.
Source: TechRepublic. James Sanders, Why quantum volume is vital for plotting the path to quantum advantage…
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