IBM Quantum System One
Created at the frontiers of quantum science, cryogenic engineering, systems engineering and industrial design, IBM Quantum System One represents the world’s first integrated quantum computer system.
Vision
Quantum computing moves out of the research lab and into the workplace.
Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems that today’s most powerful supercomputers cannot solve, and never will.
In a few short years, there has been an explosion of interest in IBM quantum computing. Our clients now range from national governments, financial services, pharmaceutical, energy, life sciences and more.
In 2016 we were the first company to put quantum computing on the cloud, and into hands of hundreds of thousands of users. Now today anyone can access an expanded selection of quantum cloud services based on IBM Quantum System One technology, to conduct research and explore new problems on our systems.
The vision behind IBM Quantum System One was to satisfy the needs of selected clients that wish to own their own exclusive on-premises system. This system represents the apex of the IBM Quantum offering.
Design
“Good design is good business.” - Thomas Watson Jr.
A quantum computer is a breathtakingly intricate machine. Thousands of meticulously engineered components have to work together flawlessly in extreme temperatures within astonishing tolerances.
Qubits are extremely sensitive to the slightest vibration or fluctuation in temperature or electromagnetic environment, losing their fleeting quantum properties within microseconds. To this end, IBM Quantum System One was designed not only to encapsulate, but to cushion this incredibly fragile quantum world from ours to drive maximum operating performance.
IBM Quantum assembled a world-class team of industrial designers, architects, and manufacturers to work alongside IBM Research scientists and systems engineers. These included the UK-based Map Project Office and Universal Design Studio. We also partnered with Milan-based company Goppion, employing the same display technology used to protect the world’s most precious art including the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and the Crown Jewels at the Tower of London.
The final design includes a nine-foot by nine-foot encasement of half-inch thick borosilicate glass forming a sealed, airtight enclosure. Independent aluminum and steel frames decouple the system’s cryostat, control electronics, and exterior casing, helping to isolate the system components for improved performance.
Great design is simple, born of the ethos that form follows function.
Quality
IBM Quantum System One physical design was tested for the first time in Italy.
In the summer of 2018 the team assembled the system for mechanical testing at Goppion headquarters in Milan. Over the course of the next two weeks the team worked day and night to put the system through a battery of tests. These were undertaken with the precision of a NASA test launch, to verify maintenance, reliability, and performance.
Today we have IBM Quantum System One installations in place across the globe, starting in North America and Germany, with Japan and many more coming soon.
Assembling the IBM Quantum System One metal support frame at the Goppion headquarters in Milan.
Assembling and testing a glass enclosure built using half-inch thick borosilicate glass.
Assembling a hinged glass door engineered to simplify system maintenance and upgrades.
Testing a hinged door attached to the stunning 9x9-foot glass cube.
IBM, Map, and Goppion team members with IBM Q System One following the two-week assembly.
System performance
IBM Quantum System One brings a systems approach to quantum computing.
Just as classical computers combine multiple components into an integrated architecture, IBM Quantum applied the same approach to quantum computing with our first fully integrated universal quantum computing system.
IBM Quantum System One is comprised of a number of custom components that work together to serve as the most advanced cloud-based quantum computing platform available.
1.
The Quantum hardware was designed for stability, and auto calibrated to give repeatable and predictable performance from high-quality qubits.
2.
Our Cryogenic systems are engineered to deliver super-cold temperatures with remarkable consistency, and to isolate the quantum environment.
3.
Our high precision electronics come in compact form factors, so that large numbers of qubits can be tightly controlled within very demanding parameters.
4.
Our Quantum firmware is designed to manage the system health and enables system upgrades without downtime for users.
5.
Quantum resources are tightly coupled with classical computation to provide secure cloud access and hybrid execution of quantum algorithms.
Not just a system, but a global network.
IBM Quantum System One is truly global
Today we have IBM Quantum System One installations in place across the globe, starting in North America and Germany, with Japan and many more coming soon.
The IBM Quantum Network is a worldwide community of leading Fortune 500 companies, startups, academic institutions, and national research labs working with IBM to advance quantum computing and explore practical applications for business and science.
Back in 2019, IBM opened the IBM Quantum Computation Center, located in Poughkeepsie, New York to expand IBM’s commercial quantum computing program, which already includes systems at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in Yorktown, New York.
This new kind of computation center houses the world’s most advanced cloud-based quantum computing systems, accessible to members of the IBM Quantum Network over the IBM Cloud.
IBM Quantum is an industry-first initiative to build universal quantum computers for business and science.