Today D-Wave Systems announced the general availability of D-Wave Hybrid, a simple open-source hybrid workflow platform for building and running quantum-classical hybrid applications. D-Wave Hybrid is part of the Ocean software development kit within D-Wave’s Leap quantum cloud service and is available today at for download. The D-Wave hybrid framework provides simplified workflow controls to developers, allowing them to use both classical and quantum systems in parallel, gain insight into system performance, optimize code across systems, and develop quantum hybrid applications more easily.
At a company like Volkswagen, there are various ways in which optimization problems occur naturally. Whether it’s scheduling and logistics, production optimization, or intelligent mobility, difficult optimization problems need to be solved routinely and quickly. This is where we expect quantum annealing can help us,” said Sheir Yarkoni, quantum computing researcher at Volkswagen’s Data:Lab Munich. “Most quantum computing projects we’ve worked on in the past have relied on a classical hybrid quantum-classical approach. The release of D-Wave Hybrid has allowed us to prototype these hybrid approaches much faster than before, and gives us the algorithmic control required to customize different parts to suit our needs. We can now scale our prototypes from small proof-of-concepts to more production-ready code, which we hope to use in our next traffic flow optimization project. Moving forward, we expect D-Wave Hybrid will be an integral part of our quantum computing framework.”
D-Wave Hybrid includes:
- Hybrid workflow control: enables rapid development of hybrid applications that can run across classical, the current D-Wave 2000Q™ family, and future quantum systems
- Modular approach: incorporates logic to simplify distribution of classical and quantum tasks, allowing developers to interrupt and synchronize across the systems and draw maximum computing power out of each system
- Problem deconstruction: capable of breaking down large problems that are bigger than the quantum processing unit (QPU) into parts that are then recombined for the overall solution
- Familiar coding environment: familiar Python-based framework and documentation includes examples that make it easy to get started without knowledge of quantum mechanics
- Flexibility: includes a number of example hybrid workflows, allowing developers to explore which workflows are best for the problem they are solving
- Leap quantum system access and Quantum Application Environment (QAE): free, real-time access to the D-Wave 2000Q family of systems and QAE resources, including learning tools, and community and technical forums for easy developer collaboration
D-Wave Hybrid is designed to simplify and accelerate developers’ ability to build and run algorithms across classical and quantum systems, continuing D-Wave’s work to help customers with their real-world application development. This release of D-Wave Hybrid is another element of the company’s next-generation platform announced last February, and is available in Leap for use by developers today. The next-generation platform will encompass a new topology, lower noise, increased qubit count, and expansion of hybrid software and tools that will continue to come to market between now and mid-2020.
As part of the general availability of D-Wave Hybrid, the company also shared its quantum hybrid strategy. The overview, Three Truths and the Advent of Hybrid Quantum Computing, details how developers, researchers, and forward-thinking businesses can optimize complex problems and now benefit from applying both classical and quantum systems to find solutions. D-Wave’s strategy is to deliver a hybrid platform that makes it easy for developers to leverage the most appropriate computing resources for each part of their application, and to eliminate the need to worry about the actual size and topology of the QPU. The hybrid platform also provides the flexibility for developers to experiment with different strategies for hybridizing their applications. The approach highlights the early benefits of hybrid quantum-classical algorithm development on a live quantum computer.
Quantum hybrid development very quickly brings the power of classical computing and quantum computing together. In fact, we expect most applications of our quantum technology to be run as hybrids of quantum and classical computation, much as CPUs and GPUs work together for many tasks today,” said Alan Baratz, executive vice-president and chief product officer at D-Wave. “Our approach is practical: D-Wave Hybrid facilitates applying current problem-solving knowledge to a hybrid platform so customers can increasingly use quantum power. This approach ensures we’re building toward outcomes where customers will see real business benefit.”
To date, D-Wave customers have developed more than 150 early applications in areas as diverse as airline scheduling, election modeling, quantum chemistry simulation, automotive design, preventative healthcare, logistics, and more. Many have also developed software tools that simplify application development. These existing applications, tools, and community give developers a wealth of examples to learn from and build upon. The releases of the D-Wave Hybrid platform, the lower-noise 2000Q processor, and the next-generation platform promise to continue expanding the variety, performance, precision, and breadth of applications.