Google introduces Willow, one of world’s most powerful quantum computers

Google has launched Willow, one of the world’s most powerful quantum computers, at its Santa Barbara facility in the United States. The device was developed by Google's Quantum AI lab and aims to solve difficult scientific tasks that regular computers can’t even begin to complete within a reasonable time span.

Unlike regular computers, Willow is a device with no keyboard or monitor. It is encased in a chandelier framework with a temperature close to absolute zero. At its core is a quantum chip with 105 qubits, which is much faster in information processing compared to regular computers.

According to Google, Willow is capable of some calculations in a few minutes compared to the fastest regular computers, which take trillions of years.

Google Willow features

According to Google Quantum AI's Chief Scientist Hartmut Neven, what Willow proves is that it can actually solve problems with a quantum computer that a classical computer could not solve. Quantum computing could be applied in fields involving complex simulations, which current computing capabilities cannot perform; it includes medical, optimal energy use, agricultural, and climate modelling applications.

Willow has already reached major milestone achievements, starting with overcoming benchmark problems such as the Quantum Echoes algorithm. Such computation helps in simulating the action of molecules, which is related to the MRI-related approaches found in medicine.

According to Google, “Willow seamlessly integrates cutting-edge error correction techniques and represents the world’s first repeatable error correction capabilities on the quantum system. Repeatable error correction has been the longstanding barrier to overcoming quantum error”. The problem of error correction has long plagued the development of quantum computing because of the extraordinary susceptibility of qubits to noise.

Experts believe the long-term goal is to scale quantum systems to around one million qubits. UK National Quantum Technology Programmes Peter Knight said Willow represents a significant leap in error correction and performance, even as most quantum computers remain experimental.