Quantum Robotics and Machine Creativity

The theoretical work focuses on accelerating machine learning with quantum computing. Photo courtesy SINC.

by Scott Kesselman



A new study published in Physical Review X by G. Davide Papara and Miguel A. Martín Delgado, states that quantum computing tools can be applied to machine intelligence to create smarter and more creative unmanned systems and robots.



Quantum mechanics has introduced algorithms to computing that allow for much faster and more secure data transfers. Now researchers from Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Innsbruck have applied these quantum tools to robotics.



They were able to apply these tools to allow a robot to create more accurate models to make predictions on.



“Building a model is actually a creative act, but conventional computers are no good at it,” says Martín Delgado. “That is where quantum computing comes into play. The advances it brings are not only quantitative in terms of greater speed, but also qualitative: adapting better to environments where the classic agent does not survive.”



This work falls under a burgeoning discipline called quantum AI that Google is investing millions of dollars in to create a specialized laboratory in collaboration with NASA. The field can lead to great advancements from unmanned systems and robotics to date.



“In the case of very demanding and impatient environments, the outcome is that the quantum robot can adapt itself and survive, while the classic robot is destined to collapse,” according to the paper. “It means a step forward towards the most ambitious objective of artificial intelligence: the creation of a robot that is intelligent and creative and that is not designed for specific tasks.”