Five ways quantum computing will change the world

In today’s world, everyone relies increasingly on computers, whether in the palm of our hand, or on our desks at home, in schools and universities, and at work. Quantum computing is set to increase the speed and power of computers beyond what we can currently imagine, at the same time revolutionising many areas of our lives that have reached the limits of what current computers can do and how quickly they can do it, especially with the emergence of big data as a field.

With this new ability to process and make sense of a huge amounts of data (setting aside ground-breaking financial services use cases, of which there are many), quantum computers will help us solve some of the most complex and challenging problems in science, computing, and even life, such as:

1. Weather: We’ve all been caught unprepared in the heat, cold or wet before, but with quantum computing’s ability to crunch billions of numbers in seconds, we’ll finally be able to rely on accurate weather forecasting.
2. Aviation and traffic: Circling above the airport and sitting in traffic jams will be things of the past with optimised flight paths to avoid congestion at airports and easily identified travel paths to reduce traffic congestion on the roads.
3. Pharmaceuticals: Your genome is incredibly complex – your DNA is made up of over 204 billion atoms. Imagine being able to design highly accurate, effective and personalised medication that is mapped to your DNA to work specifically for you. With quantum computers we could simulate the effects of drugs to such a granular level, curing the toughest diseases and achieving longer lifespans.
4. Manufacturing: Currently, we spend a large amount of time and computing power performing molecular and materials simulations. Quantum computers will quickly and efficiently model the molecular structure and material properties that enable us to develop new materials and processes.
5. Space: Interplanetary space travel is an incredibly exciting, complicated, and dangerous emerging field. With quantum computers, intrepid Mars colonisers could use their spacecraft’s on-board quantum computer to effortlessly track millions of pieces of debris as they safely navigate through a constantly shifting field of asteroids.

Background

Earlier this year, CBA’s Emerging Technology team launched its own quantum computer simulator to give Australian developers a head start on the massive step change in computing power promised by quantum processing. Based on ground-breaking research by UNSW Australia, the simulator gives developers and academics a platform to create quantum computing software before the hardware has been built.

In August 2017, CBA, Telstra, UNSW and the Federal and NSW governments announced as investors the formation of Australia’s first quantum computing hardware company: Silicon Quantum Computing. The company was launched to advance the development and commercialisation of UNSW’s world-leading quantum computing technology. CBA’s total investment of UNSW Quantum Computing research is more than $14m.

The University of New South Wales’ Centre for Quantum Computation and Communication Technology is a global leader in the engineering and control of individual atoms in silicon and associated manipulation of quantum states. It is working to build a quantum computer in silicon, the material of choice in the semiconductor industry.