Scientists have developed a quantum computer that uses light to process data, paving the way for quantum computers that can operate in a networked environment at room temperature. The new system, called Aurora, is the first photonic quantum computer in the world that can operate at scale using several modules interconnected through fiber optic cables. The system presents a solution to some of quantum computing’s biggest problems — namely operation at scale, fault tolerance and error correction, Xanadu representatives say. This breakthrough could lead to the creation of viable quantum data centers with higher fault tolerance and lower error rates than we can otherwise achieve today, the researchers said in a study published Jan. 22 in the journal Nature. “The two big challenges remaining for the industry are the improved performance of the quantum computer (error correction and fault tolerance) and scalability (networking),” Christian Weedbrook, the founder and CEO of Xanadu, the company behind the new system, said in a statement. Traditional qubits, or superconducting qubits, are the building blocks of quantum computing and hold the key to processing massive amounts of data quickly.

Full report : Scientists have built the first networked quantum computer using photons, demonstrating that room-temperature modules can be connected and scaled up.