Quantum computing system
The Automated farm would be no doubt a very wide scale project. The amounts of data collected by both sensors and researchers would likely be far bigger than most conventional computers would ever be able to handle. When first imagining the system, we thought of 2016 systems like IBM’s supercomputer Watson or Googles Deep mind. These are computers which use a combination of artificial intelligence and deep learning with super computer power. Watson is used for many things, famously for being the world’s best player of the game show jeopardy. However, his computing power is far more useful than just winning a game show. IBM believes Watsons best uses are for data analytics of medical patients. [insert reference] Watson would compare the cases of one patients to millions of medical records and work out to a very degree of accuracy what the probability of certain illnesses are in occurring in a patient. Similarly googles deep mind program uses artificial intelligence, to allow a computer to learn for itself from an array of Data. If we apply these two concepts, then we can achieve a very efficient and world changing way to conduct agriculture.
One team member was adamant to turn our self-learning super computer in to a Quantum machine. This hasn’t been done in supercomputers to date, due to Quantum systems being in their infancy. However, the benefits of using a quantum system in a supercomputer are likely very promising.
Firstly, a bit of context for the quantum system. Classically a computer runs of binary digits (bits) these bits are 0 and 1. To encode information in this classical system we can arrange the 0 and the 1 as 00, 01, 10, 11. With two pieces of information we can have four possible ways to arrange them. The more bits it takes to convey the information you want, the larger amounts of data you must use.
A quantum computing system works in a similar way; however, its superior power is shown afterwards. The research done in quantum computers uses the outer most electron in an atom of phosphor. However, it may be done with any particle which can exist on a quantum superposition. This is that the particle can be both 0 and 1 at the same time in a sense.
Bits (binary digits) are just 0 and 1. However the term used for a quantum computer is “Qubit” for quantum bit. The quantum bit takes advantage of this in a special way. The electron has a property known as spin. Which can either be in the position Spin up or spin down.
The spin occurs while the electron is in a magnetic field. Here it will align itself with the magnetic field. Here it has the lowest amount of energy and is known as Spin down. However, if we want to move the electron to the Up-spin position some energy n must be given to it, for this to be done and it would also be known as the highest energy state.
So now we have an electron that can exist in both an up and down state. However, because of the quantum mechanical phenomena the electron can exist in both and up and down state at the same time. This is known as superposition. However, the electron will collapse in to one of the two states when being observed.
Before observing the electrons state, however, it can be assigned a probabilistic coefficient to tell us the likelihood that it will either be spin up or spin down. But this is not very helpful unless we consider to particles interacting with each other in a quantum state known as entanglement. Quantum entanglement has been known to show us that when observing one of two entangled particles the other will be in the opposite position. This process happens regardless of distance, if the particles are entangled.
Now considering the two entangled electrons we have four possible ways that the electrons will be. This may be up/up, down/down, down/up or up/down. This is the exact same as a classical bit, but with two electrons. However, the real power of the quantum computing system is when you consider the amount of information contained.
This information means that when you have n Qubits it will contain the same amount of information at 2^n classical bits. This means that in a system of 3 entangled particles, it would contain as much information as 8 bits of information. Which is 256 ways in which the information can be arranged.
You can then see that the system works exponentially better than that of a classical computer. If you could entangle 8 quantum bits it would be the equivalent of 2^n classical bits. This is just 8 electrons on the outer most orbit of a phosphor atom. However, it would require 256 bits. This is a repetitive series of 0 and 1 just to convey the same amount of information that the Qubit can give us. If we take 300 Qubits in a quantum state of entanglement it would then be the equivalent of 2×10^90 bits. This Is a number greater than all the particles in the entire universe. This should be able to convey the abilities of a quantum computer.
However, this assumption is not as clear cut as it may seem. Creating a quantum computer would not be a case of just making all computers exponentially faster. This is due to a fundamental factor in quantum superposition’s. Erwin Schrödinger gave us the thought experiment of a cat in a box for us to understand the weird world of quantum mechanics. The experiment goes as such. You place a cat in a box which is sealed on all sides and cannot be seen in to. In the box, along with the cat is a poison which has a 50% probability of killing the cat. When you close the lid of the box the cat enters a theoretical superposition. The cat is both dead and alive at the same time. It is only after we open the box that we can determine if the cat is dead or alive. Reality is said to have collapsed in to one of two options. This however is quantum mechanical phenomena and does not apply on a macro scale. However, the idea still sticks for a n electron which is in a quantum superposition. If we have 300 Qubits in a highly complex entangled state, then they can compute all possibilities within its scope. However, when you observe the positions of the electrons spins you lose the information gathered by the rest of the possibilities.
Therefore, Quantum computers are not a total replacement for classical computers. They do not allow for your computer to send information faster. However, it does in fact replace certain aspects and applications of classical computers. The advantage of a quantum computer lies in its ability to analyse massive data sets much quicker than the fastest classical computer. For example if a classical computer is tasked with breaking in to a system by testing each combination of passwords possible in an encrypted system then it could take millions o years for this to be done, however a quantum system could break the encryption within minutes. This shows the pure power of a quantum computing system.
Now if you allow a quantum computer to do probabilistic calculations that are being used to model something like the growth pattern of plants, under certain variables than you can predict how things will work in your system. The quantum supercomputer would be able to predict the weather months in advance, given enough reference data.
By now it should be evident how Switching our computing system to a quantum computing system Is extremely useful. What’s more, if we can combine the system with artificial intelligence protocols such as deep learning then we can teach the computer to take advantage of its superior computing power and predict the best possible way in which we will improve yields and grow crops faster.
There is likely several stages in the computers design. At first the computer will be reliant on the data collected by researchers. This may be called Ω 1. Then the computer will analyse the data from its first run off using the researcher’s data and then see what did and didn’t work well. It begins to run simulations on what it believes work best. This would then be called Ω2. After this the computer, will run in cycles, constantly perfecting its approach. It may eventually start to ask for the system to be altered this would be known as Ω3. The system is completely autonomous.
The idea of one super quantum computer per farm is likely completely un reasonable. This is due to the fact the expense of this system would be much like the cost of very early systems of classical computers. However, if we assume a rate of technological progression much like that of the classic computer, following Moore’s law, then the expense of the quantum computing system would decrease over time along with their power, exponentially over time.
We do not believe that such technology will be as widespread in 16 years, we do believe it will be far more advanced than it is right now. Because of this the conclusion the team came to was that we would create one main Frame supercomputer that would firstly do the work for the Olympic village’s farm. But then post Olympics it would serve as a main computer using the same mechanical system, which is automated and then the information would be sent back to the supercomputer which analyses the data and then sends it back. The information would obviously be very large so the necessity to have large bandwidth systems would be vital.
Investors could then pay a premium for the use of the quantum supercomputer. This would then give them greater yields. Obviously, the price of the supercomputer rental would pay back in increased yields. The company involved would then expand as needed, so they would invest their profits in to an expansion program. The mechanical system can be used with classical computers but with limited analytical features, but it should still allow for the increase in productivity and yields