Quantum Computing May Mean Quantum Robotics: The Creative and Smart Robots of the Future

Quantum computing may allow for the creation of powerful computers, but it may also pave the way for better robotics, as well. Scientists have taken a closer look at quantum computing and have found that quantum tools can help robots learn and respond much faster to the stimuli around them.

Quantum mechanics has introduced algorithms which are much quicker and more secure when it comes to transferring information. Yet can these same tools be applied to robots, automatons and other devices that use artificial intelligence? That's exactly what the researchers wanted to find out.

In their theoretical work, the researchers focused on using quantum computing to accelerate ahead with one of the most difficult points to resolve in information technology: machine learning. This particular learning is applied to know how the climate or an illness will evolve or in the development of Internet search engines.

"Building a model is actually a creative act, but conventional computers are no good at it," said Miguel Martin-Delgado, one of the researchers, in a news release. "That is where quantum computing comes into play. The advances it brings are not only quantitative in terms of greater speed, but also qualitative: adapting better to environments where the classic agent does not survive. This mean that quantum robots are more creative."

The findings reveal that quantum computing could be used to create quantum robotics. It's also a step forward towards artificial intelligence; in fact, in the future it may be possible to create a robot that is both intelligent and creative.

"In the case of very demanding and 'impatient' environments, the outcome is that the quantum robot can adapt itself and survive, while the classic robot is destined to collapse," explain the researchers.

The findings are published in the journal Physical Review X.