QAE – Quantum Algorithm Engineering: Bridging the Gap to Industrial Applications

Quantum computers are increasingly becoming a reality, and recent successes in the development of quantum computers underscore the progress being made towards practical applications. Austria has positioned itself at the forefront of these developments and is developing state-of-the-art quantum hardware and software. However, there is still a technological gap between practical applications and the very hardware-oriented software ecosystem in quantum computing applications and the very hardware-oriented software ecosystem in quantum computing.
The aim of the COMET module Quantum Algorithm Engineering (QAE) is to close this gap connecting industrial applications with the existing quantum ecosystem and thus making the advantages of this new technology usable. To this end, the project is investigating for different areas of application (with a focus on combinatorial quantum optimisation and quantum machine learning) whether and which quantum algorithms are practically usable. In addition the integration of quantum algorithms into hybrid systems is being researched, as well as the development of a necessary software environment that will ultimately provide all the tools needed to to evaluate practical applications for quantum computers. This project requires investment in basic research on quantum algorithms, their applicability, advantages and disadvantages, and theoretical guarantees in combination with the development of methods and software tools.