South Korean automotive powerhouse Hyundai has partnered with IonQ. Maryland-based IonQ is one of the world's premier quantum computing firms. Why? To make transportation in the future a lot safer and more automated. IonQ and Hyundai Motor Company had already collaborated on a project before. It aimed at upgrading electric vehicle batteries.

On April 19, the two organizations announced the start of a new project that aims to identify road signs using quantum computing. It'll also classify traffic sign images. Moreover, it'll perform simulations in a real-world test environment, with the goal of eventually expanding to 3D object tracking for long-term mobility.

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How Hyundai Looks To Improve Autonomous-Driving

Hyundai IonQ Quantum Computing Technology
Via: Hyundai

The businesses expect that by using quantum machine learning in-vehicle computer vision systems. Automated vehicles need to be able to distinguish items on and around the road. This is necessary for safety and autonomous driving. The team has categorized 43 different types of traffic signs for recognition. A breakthrough in quantum encoding is what enables the new technology.

IonQ and Hyundai will work together on developing quantum for 3D object detection. They are also expanding current work on identifying road signs. Their target is to include items such as pedestrians and bicycles as part of the research. That implies the program must be able to recognize road signs in a range of situations. A stop sign caked in mud looks like a stop sign to us, but a computer can only see a completely clear and visible one. According to IonQ, machine learning and image classification are critical to closing the gap.

“From partnering on battery research for electric vehicles to image classification and object detection research for automated driving, we expect to see quantum computers become an even more integral part in developing novel transportation solutions,” President and CEO of IonQ, Peter Chapman, remarked.

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The World's Most Powerful Quantum Computer

Hyundai and IONQ box
Via IonQ

IonQ is a pioneer in trapped-ion quantum computing, since arriving in 2015. It previously collaborated on cloud-based quantum computing technologies with Amazon, Microsoft, and Google. IonQ's latest quantum computer, the IonQ Aria, will handle this task differently. It'll handle it in a more efficient and less expensive than traditional methods. In the future, this will lead to the creation of safer, more intelligent mobility.

The Aria is considered as the industry's most powerful quantum computer. That's thanks to its 20 algorithmic qubits. The new family of quantum gates can speed up quantum computations. IonQ and Duke University systems are the only ones that can use this. It became the first business to use barium ions as qubits. These ions further enhance quantum computing systems.

In the following phase, the Hyundai and IonQ look to replicate many real-world scenarios. These will take place in Hyundai's test system. They aim to do that by using IonQ's machine learning expertise. These findings should, in theory, soon make their way into production automobiles. The public's perception of EVs like the Ioniq5 tethers to innovative technologies. Being capable of delivering on that is vital to an automaker's success in the EV category.