Quantum computers are still a long way from being practical in real-world scenarios, but development is already underway on benchmarking tools to measure their performance. The Quantum Economic Development Consortium (QED-C) announced the public availability of an open-source suite of application-oriented performance benchmark programs for quantum computing. This suite of tools was developed by the QED-C Standards and Performance Metrics Technical Advisory Committee (Standards TAC) and is the result of a multi-year collaborative effort by QED-C member companies involved with the development of quantum computing technologies.
The novel approach executes familiar quantum algorithms and small programs over a range of problem dimensions to gauge how well – and how quickly – a quantum computer performs quantum operations. The QED-C approach complements other methods for characterising the performance of quantum computers, such as randomised benchmarking or quantum volume.
“We designed this suite of benchmark programs to be as easy to use as possible and to be readily accessible through multiple APIs, such as Qiskit, Cirq and Braket,” says Tom Lubinski of Quantum Circuits and chair of the QED-C Standards TAC. “This makes it possible for users and providers alike not only to gauge performance across different quantum hardware devices but also to track improvements as hardware evolves over time.”
The approach provides a perspective on the end-user experience when running quantum programs on a quantum computer. Results from executing these benchmark programs correlate well with predictions from other measures such as quantum volume, at the same time offering a more direct view of how specific applications will perform.
Celia Merzbacher, executive director of the QED-C added that “this successful project stands out as an example of what a consortium, such as QED-C, can accomplish when like-minded individuals from diverse and sometimes competing organisations work together toward a shared goal benefiting the whole community and encourages adoption of quantum computing technology.”
The open-source code repository is available at www.dataweek.co.za/*nov21-qedcz (redirects to GitHub). The Standards TAC also authored a paper that provides results and details about the methodology used in this project – ‘Application Oriented Performance Benchmarks for Quantum Computing,’ available at www.dataweek.co.za/*nov21-qedc2 (redirects to arXiv).
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