Quantum Computing aims at exploiting quantum phenomena to deliver faster computations. At Idea-Re, we believe that Quantum Computing will soon be one of the driving technologies for problem solving and data manipulation. As of today, there are still some difficulties for private companies to explore the potential of quantum computing, mainly due to a lack of specific skills. The strategy that companies are adopting more and more frequently is based on open innovation, i.e., the use of external cooperation for solving important technical-scientific problems. Thus, thanks to the natural inclination to cooperate with academia and research centers, Idea-Re not only fits as a center of expertise on quantum computing, but also as an element of connection with the world of research.
Idea-Re has the goal to tackle real-world problems pushing the limits of R&D and is committed to bringing Quantum Computing closer to companies by tackling real-world use cases, such as optimization problems. Optimization problems are ubiquitous in daily life and entail finding the most convenient way of solving a specific task, saving costs, and increasing efficiency. They range from delivery to traffic flow or job scheduling problems.
The Idea-Re data science team comprises physicists and engineers and is directed by a full professor of Measurements. The members of the team come from Academia and have teaching experiences.
Projects
- Solving Sensor Placement Problem In Real Water Distribution Networks Using Adiabatic Quantum Computation: Idea-Re developed an efficient way of placing pressure sensors on a generic water distribution network (WDN) starting from its topology and few other features. The problem can be easily formulated as Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) by specifying an Hamiltonian whose ground state encodes the solution — i.e. the best configurations — of the problem. It turns out that the problem can be easily implemented on a quantum annealer, and a solution can be found in a short amount of time. The algorithm is currently used by a private company in Italy for real-time calculation of sensor-placement.
- Optimization of indoor localization systems: Idea-Re developed a system to find the positioning of RTLS (Real Time Location System) anchors in a hospital to maximize the covering of the most critic areas in multidrug- resistant bacteria health hazard, within the project “DATAH: A DATA driven solution to reduce multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria Health hazard”.
- A novel approach to face early pandemics using QUBO models: Idea-Re developed an efficient and dynamical way to monitor sewer networks with particular emphasis on the identification and quantification of SARS-CoV-2. The system, called “WBE-COVID – a new wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) system to track COVID-19”, is currently used by the city of Verbania, Italy, for public health monitoring.
Industry use cases for quantum optimization are not limited to spatial networks. Quantum computing can improve many different fields, such as finance, healthcare and pharmaceutical, transport and logistics, aerospace and automotive and many other fields. They are just waiting to be explored.