Google has collaborated with a research team from the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) to develop new quantum information processors based on superconducting electronics for deployment in artificial intelligence applications.
To be led by physicist John Martinis, the latest project is executed as part of efforts to expand Google’s research around quantum computing.
Work on the project involves cooling materials to a point close to absolute freezing where electrical resistance and magnetic fields get reduced.
Google Director of Engineering Hartmut Neven said: We are pleased to announce that John Martinis and his team at UC Santa Barbara will join Google in this initiative.
"John and his group have made great strides in building superconducting quantum electronic components of very high fidelity.
"With an integrated hardware group the Quantum AI team will now be able to implement and test new designs for quantum optimization and inference processors based on recent theoretical insights as well as our learnings from the D-Wave quantum annealing architecture."
The Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab is group effort between Google, NASA Ames Research Center and the Universities Space Research Association (USRA) to investigate the application of quantum optimization associated with artificial intelligence.
Working on projects such as self-driving cars and robots, Google has turned out to be highly focussed on artificial intelligence in recent years, with its acquisition of private AI firm DeepMind Technologies, in January.
Neven added: "We will continue to collaborate with D-Wave scientists and to experiment with the ‘Vesuvius’ machine at NASA Ames which will be upgraded to a 1000 qubit ‘Washington’ processor."
