Car Makers See Quantum Computing as Strategic Priority

(Canada.AutoNews) Automotive companies are already considering the broader implications of quantum computing technology for everything from mobility-as-a-service to artificial intelligence to optimizing the design of car components. “We see quantum computing as a strategic priority,” said Joydip Ghosh, Ford Motor’s expert on the subject.
The inflection point for the auto industry may have come when VW Group Chief Information Officer Martin Hofmann teamed up with D-Wave more than two years ago to see whether the company’s computers could offer VW practical help.
“Hofmann recalled. “We wanted to learn what the opportunities and limitations were. Can we use quantum machines to model real-world problems?” Employing traffic data collected from thousands of taxis in Beijing, the duo could determine the most efficient route for 418 cars heading to the airport such that congestion would not even occur. In December 2017, researchers led by VW’s Neukart published the groundbreaking study.
“This proved you could solve actual use cases such as traffic congestion if you can convert them into mathematical algorithms for mapping onto quantum hardware,” Ford’s Ghosh said.
Carmakers able to derive new revenue streams from endless lines of encoded ones and zeros will enjoy a competitive edge over rivals. Mining that data requires not just computing power, but speed, and that is the decisive advantage of quantum computers.