Google Unveils Quantum AI Campus For The Future Of Quantum Computing Research

google unveils quantum ai campus for the future of googles quantum research
During yesterday’s Google I/O event, we heard about several updates to Google software products, including Android 12 and Wear OS. Google also managed to bring in actor Michael Peña to tour the new Google quantum computing and AI campus. Today, we get to take a closer look at it so let us dive right in…

Google’s Quantum AI campus in Santa Barbara, California, is a brand-new, state-of-the-art facility. It features the company’s first quantum data center, quantum hardware research laboratories, and quantum processor chip fabrication facilities that will all be used to facilitating the building of the first “error-corrected quantum computer for the world.”

quantum computer google unveils quantum ai campus for the future of googles quantum research
"The inside of our cryostats, like the ones found in the Quantum AI campus, are some of the
coldest places in the universe, reaching temperatures around 10 milliKelvin" - Courtesy Of Google

Quantum computers use quantum bits, or “qubits,” which can be entangled in a quite “complex superposition of states, naturally mirroring the complexity of molecules in the real world.” Ultimately, all of this can be hand-waved away as high-level physics to help “test and invent new chemical processes and new materials before investing in costly real-life prototypes.” The problem with this is that there can be interference from and smallest of things, such as radiation from the sun. Thus, an error-corrected system is needed to make the process more efficient and reliable.

chip google unveils quantum ai campus for the future of googles quantum research
Google's Sycamore Quantum Processor, Courtesy Of Google

To get to a solid error-correcting quantum computer, Google is on a path to create one million physical qubits working in tandem within a “room-sized error-corrected quantum computer.” In doing this, Google will also need to build the world’s first “quantum transistor,” which is two error-corrected “logical qubits,” that perform operations together and are subsequently tiled together to form the quantum computer. To get to that point, several more steps must be accomplished before the ultimate goal is realized.

Basically, what this boils down to is that there is a lot of complex work ahead of Google, and it may take many years. Having a facility that aids in the endeavor is paramount to researching and developing as efficiently as possible. Whether or not the information goes over the head of most who read about it, it is fascinating work no matter what, so stay tuned to HotHardware for the many quantum computing updates to come in the years to follow.