 |
| D-WAVE Quantum Computer. Photo: D-WAVE Systems, Inc. |
Quantum computing is on the verge of providing big data analysis for customers but exploration of the technology’s potential is still in progress, according to Brad Pietras, vice president for technology at Lockheed Martin [LMT].
The current state of quantum computing is akin to “looking at a transistor in 1950 and speculating about what an iPod would look like,” Pietras said in an interview yesterday.
Quantum computing offers the possibility of processing big data in record speeds, for applications as varied as intelligence analysis, financial analysis, software testing and even amino acid combinations for prescription drugs.
The current form of digital computing processes information sequentially in 1s and 0s. Growing data requirements and more complicated analytics are outpacing this standard binary computing. Quantum eliminates these restrictions by processing data all at once using the properties of subatomic particles.
“Every time you’re adding another parameter, you’re scaling exponentially and it’s increasing to a point where nothing on earth could solve the problem in a reasonable amount of time,” Pietras said. “We look at quantum computing as a way of overcoming that scaling limitation.”
Lockheed Martin is currently the only commercial owner of the D-WAVE quantum computer, which it purchased from Canadian firm D-WAVE Systems, Inc. two years ago.
The benefits of quantum’s speed and versatility include improved efficiency and lower cost, Pietras said.
“Just taking cost out of the system, [it] has potential impact across every sector of our business,” he said.