At CES 2019, IBM launched something that is certainly not designed for consumers. The IBM Q System One is a new quantum computer that operates at near absolute zero temperatures. IBM leveraged it’s industrial design team to make something that looks stunning. The IBM Q System One is billed as the world’s first integrated quantum computing system for commercial use.

IBM Q System One

The IBM Q System One is claimed to be a universal approximate superconducting quantum computer.

IBM says that the Q System One is comprised of a number of custom components that work together to serve as the most advanced cloud-based quantum computing program available, including:

Quantum hardware designed to be stable and auto-calibrated to give repeatable and predictable high-quality qubits;

Cryogenic engineering that delivers a continuous cold and isolated quantum environment;

High precision electronics in compact form factors to tightly control large numbers of qubits;

Quantum firmware to manage the system health and enable system upgrades without downtime for users; and

Classical computation to provide secure cloud access and hybrid execution of quantum algorithms.

(Source: IBM)

The IBM Q System One will go into the IBM Q Quantum Computation Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. IBM bills the quantum computer as one of the coldest places in the universe at about one hundred times colder than outer space. Putting it into the cloud will allow those companies and researchers that want to use the systems to do so. Already attributed to IBM’s early quantum computing efforts are over 130 research papers on quantum computing across a number of domains.

Large scale quantum computing is still some time off, however, the amount of investment in the area is increasing as we see the technology get closer to commercial viability.