Ford Teams with Microsoft to Apply Quantum Principles to Reduce… – RIDE by Kelley Blue Book

Anyone who uses a mapping program such as Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze, knows that the shortest route often leads to gridlock. Thats because those programs calculate in a vacuum in whats considered selfish routing. The current algorithms dont account for other drivers making similar requests, so everyone ends up trying to beat traffic using similar if not the same route.

The current technology just cant handle the complex calculations necessary to coordinate traffic on a large scale. But, what if another computational method could take into consideration those other drivers?

In an article on Medium, Dr. Ken Washington, Chief Technology Officer, Ford Motor Company, discusses how Ford and Microsoft scientists teamed up in a research pilot to leverage quantum-inspired technology. Through simulations of thousands of vehicles, they examined its impact on congestion.

Quantum technology, which relies upon quantum physics, is an emerging field of research thats attempting to take advantage of atoms and subatomic particles special properties. Traditional computers process information in binary code, storing data and performing calculations by assigning values of one or zero, known as bits.

Quantum computers crunch data using qubits, which can assign values of one and zero at the same time, enabling faster computational speed. Qubits allow for consideration of other vehicles in route requests to optimize traffic. However, traditional computers just dont have the capacity to make those computations in a timely fashion, and quantum computers are still in development.

Despite the fact that theres no qubit-crunching hardware available yet, Ford and Microsofts researchers teamed up in 2018 to develop quantum approaches that could run on classical computers, already in use to help reduce Seattles traffic congestion. By simulating some specific features of a quantum computer on non-quantum hardware, the researchers were able to create some powerful algorithms.

While were still in the early stages of quantum computing development, Washington said in the article, encouraging progress has been made that can help us take what weve learned in the field and start to apply it to problems we want to solve today, while scaling to more complex problems tomorrow.

The researchers tested the algorithm in several simulated scenarios, including one with 5,000 vehicles across Metro Seattle choosing from 10 different route choices simultaneously. The results were impressive. In just 20 seconds, the algorithm suggested routes resulting in a 73 percent decrease in congestion and 8 percent reduction in commute time. That translates to more than 55,000 hours saved in congestion.

By taking what weve learned about quantum computing and bringing it to hardware thats already available, we dont have to wait until quantum computers are deployed on a wide scale to take advantage of the technology, said Julie Love, Microsofts senior director for quantum computing, in the article.

From the promising research, quantum technology looks to be a powerful tool in the arsenal for balancing traffic flow, reducing pollution and soothing the frayed nerves of city drivers.

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Ford Teams with Microsoft to Apply Quantum Principles to Reduce... - RIDE by Kelley Blue Book