Quantum Inspire

Quantum Inspire is the advanced research centre for quantum computing -- a collaboration founded in 2014 by Delft University of Technology and TNO. Quantum Inspire provides users access to technologies to perform quantum computations on actual quantum computers.

www.quantum-inspire.com

Challenge

Quantum computing holds an enormous promise for the future. Unlike a traditional computer, a quantum computer's building blocks are qubits -- particles that can simultaneously represent a value of 0 and 1. Complex questions can be solved exponentially quicker by cleverly using this unique property.

💡 See this video for in-depth information about quantum computing:

Quantum Computers Explained - Limits of Human Technology

Where are the limits of human technology? And can we somehow avoid them? This is where quantum computers become very interesting. Check out THE NOVA PROJECT ...

youtu.be

Quantum Inspire envisioned an accessible platform to get users inspired, enable users to program quantum algorithms, execute these algorithms, and examine the results. The platform also has to house an extensive knowledge base to help you make your first steps in quantum computing.

My Role

I was involved with the Quantum Inspire project from the very beginning. We facilitated several co-creation sessions to determine the scope and concept for the platform. I elaborated on several customer journeys by creating personas and journey maps. As a UX designer I worked on multiple flows, including the graphical interface to program quantum algorithms. In addition to those, I was responsible for documenting the interface elements in a design system to ensure a consistent user experience. I facilitated several content creation sessions to fill the knowledge base with information.

Solution

We put the most effort into the creation of the Quantum Inspire code editor. In this graphical interface, the users can program quantum algorithms by writing in QASM (Quantum Assembly Language). The code is written and is parsed -on the fly- into a visual circuit diagram of the quantum algorithm, corresponding to the standard quantum annotation in academic writing. After executing the algorithm, the user can examine the results right in the code editor.

Results

After several sprints we successfully launched the first version of Quantum Inspire, with continuous updates ever since. The platform now consists of the code editor where users can perform quantum computations on multiple actual quantum chips. On top of that, the knowledge base has become a reference in the field of quantum computing.

🏆 Quantum Inspire was awarded a nomination for the Dutch Interactive Awards 2019.