Google and NASA Snap Up Quantum Computer D-Wave Two

[Sam Wormley]

Google and NASA Snap Up Quantum Computer D-Wave Two
> http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=google-nasa-snap-up-quantum-computer-dwave-two

> The three organizations have joined forces to install a D-Wave Two,
> the computer company's latest model, in a facility launched by the
> collaboration — the Quantum Artificial Intelligence Lab at NASA's
> Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California. The lab will
> explore areas such as machine learning — making computers sort and
> analyse data on the basis of previous experience. This is useful for
> functions such as language translation, image searches and
> voice-command recognition. “We actually think quantum machine
> learning may provide the most creative problem-solving process under
> the known laws of physics,” says a blog post from Google describing
> the deal.
>

> D-Wave has battled to prove that its computer really operates on a
> quantum level, and that it is better or faster than a conventional
> computer. Before striking the latest deal, the prospective customers
> set a series of tests for the quantum computer. D-Wave hired an
> outside expert in algorithm-racing, who concluded that the speed of
> the D-Wave Two was above average overall, and that it was 3,600 times
> faster than a leading conventional computer when working on the
> specific type of problem that the quantum computer was built to
> solve.
>