Quantum computers aren’t ready for the big time yet, but you could help program their circuits and make them a reality by playing a new game.
Computers that operate on the principles of quantum mechanics could massively speed up the discovery of solutions to certain problems, but scaling up lab experiments to machines that can solve real problems has so far proved too challenging.
Now Simon Devitt of the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Saitama, Japan, and his colleagues want help from members of the public to change that.
Following in the footsteps of projects such as online science puzzle game Foldit, Devitt has turned the problem of programming a quantum computer into a game called meQuanics. His team has developed a prototype to test the game, which you can play now, and today launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund a fully fledged version for iOS and Android phones.
The game is based on a technique called topological error correction, which many research groups around the world are using in the quest to create large-scale quantum computers.
The technique works by carving out circuits in a 3D grid of quantum bits, or qubits. The larger the circuit, the more qubits you need and the more challenging it is to build your computer.
To read more and view the video, click here.