A photo of the Jiuzhang light-based quantum computer prototype Photo: courtesy of University of Science and Technology of China 

A Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) research institute announced that it has completed the latest updates of a  Quantum Computing Cloud Platform co-built with Alibaba, allowing ordinary users to gain easier access to quantum computing knowledge. 

The quantum computing cloud platform supports the largest number of quantum bits in China. At present, more than 5,000 registered users have conducted more than 10,000 quantum computing experiments on the quantum computing cloud platform.

On Monday, two new sections of the platform were launched to popularize the cutting-edge technology to general public, according to the research team.

The knowledge data base section is aimed at introducing latest and systematic information of global quantum computing while a  "Q & A" section enables users to communicate more directly with experts in the field of quantum computing.

The platform was first released by  CAS innovative center for quantum information and quantum physics and Aliyun, Alibaba's cloud computing subsidiary in 2017, the first in China. 

In February the platform was upgraded with the help of Jinan Institute of Quantum Technology to be connected to the "Jiuzhang" optical quantum computing prototype.

Since quantum computers still require high-cost input and complex auxiliary equipment, which are expensive to make and difficult to use, the platform could help by providing cloud access for various users to share quantum computing resources and results, said Li Junyun, a professor of University of Science and Technology in China at the launch event. 

The platform is open to both scientific enthusiasts and professional scientific researchers. While public users can learn about basic quantum information knowledge on the cloud platform, interacting with scientists online; scientific research users can use the most advanced quantum computing prototypes on the platform for their research.

In the future, the cloud platform will be fully open and welcomes all parties to work together to create a good ecological environment for quantum computing, and promote the quantum computing knowledge, achieve scientific research progress and application exploration, according to the institute.

Global Times