63rd Dies Natalis of ITB Scientific Speech: ITB’s Involvement on Entering the Second Quantum Revolution
By Adi Permana
Editor Adi Permana
BANDUNG, itb.ac.id—The ability to manipulate a quantum unit and utilize the entanglement between qubits gives birth to potential technologies in the quantum world. The second quantum technology revolution allows these technologies to be applied for solving difficult quantum-related problems such as quantum computing, quantum communication, and quantum sensing.
With Prof. Andriyan Bayu Suksmono, M.T., Ph.D. from ITB STEI (School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics) Telecommunication Engineering Research Group, the "Welcoming the Second Quantum Revolution" forum was held at ITB’s 63rd Dies Natalis event on Wednesday (2/3/2022).
Prof. Andri mentioned that there are current issues that are yet to be solved and possess complexity growth faster than polynomial functions. These difficult problems include the TSP (Traveling Salesman Problem), integer factoring, and quantum simulation.
"One example of such problems, the integer factoring, is finally applied to the cryptographic system widely used in creating secret messages," he added.
These problems can be solved soon with the arrival of the second quantum revolution. During that time, bits in quantum computers can be replaced with quantum bits or qubits. Qubits might trigger a superposition event between the "0" and "1" bits that cause both to appear simultaneously. Thus, quantum simulations conducted by these computers run more efficiently and solve problems faster.
Quantum technology development in Indonesia is slowly gaining traction. Both academics and researchers from ITB STEI have conducted independent research about quantum algorithms since 2010. One of their studies was the search for orthogonal codes–the set of binary codes that make up the Hadamard matrix.
"The Hadamard matrix is important for the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) communication systems. This matrix is used in the ECC (Error Correcting Code) system implemented in spacecraft communication. Our latest publication in 2022 discussed the discovery of the D-Wave which can locate the 100x100 Hadamard matrix," he explained.
Prof. Andri stated that the present world is in a quantum paradigm that can be utilized with the help of industries and developed countries to provide unimaginable solutions in the future. Therefore, Indonesia must not remain silent or become a spectator of the Second Quantum Revolution; instead, Indonesia must be able to study and master quantum technology.
Reporter: Nur Rama Adamas (Civil Engineering, 2020)
Translator: Ruth Nathania (Environmental Engineering, 2019)
