New MAKE project aims to make quantum computing more accessible

Quantum computing could fundamentally change the way we approach computation. However, the actual hardware remains restricted to those with access to high-cost equipment in elite laboratories, normally in just a small number of countries.

To address this inequity, a new student MAKE project has begun at EPFL, “Schiiq: The First Low-Cost, Open-Source Computer for Quantum Education”, which will make hands-on quantum computing more equitable by building affordable educational quantum devices that can be used in schools in Switzerland as well as around the world, including in lower-income countries.

“Quantum computing still only remains accessible to the most well-funded research labs and institutions,” says Andrés Quesnel González, QSE master’s student and president of the Schiiq MAKE team. “There are smart people all around the world, but they don’t have the access they need.”

“We aim to increase accessibility as much as possible”

The project, developed by the EPFL QSE Master’s students alongside the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz (FHNW) and the QSE Center, will allow students to directly experience basic quantum principles such as superposition, measurement, qubit control, entanglement, noise modelling, and directly implement quantum computations using only a few qubits, while also gaining skills in project management, and learning about sustainability and accessibility in quantum computing.

“Most people don’t have access to these technologies for educational purposes, especially in lower-income countries, but also even high schoolers and the general public here in Switzerland,” says Eleonora Giuliani, who is the hardware lead on the team. “Our aim is to build an affordable and transportable table-top open-source quantum computer that can be used for educational purposes anywhere.”

These table-top quantum computers will be based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) technology, using the spins of nuclei at room temperature as qubits and radio frequency pulses to control them. This technology was used by the first quantum computers, but eventually abandoned because the number of qubits was not scalable. However, thanks to their low cost and functionality at room-temperature, they are ideal for educational settings where simplicity, affordability, and ease of use are essential.

“In this project, we are not chasing higher performance,” Quesnel González explains, “Instead, we aim to increase accessibility as much as possible.”

For the first year, the team will focus on building the three necessary components of their tabletop quantum computer kit: an NMR probe, a spectrometer, and the necessary software. The first milestone of the project will be to demonstrate a 1-qubit functional operation using liquid water.

“Building this will require a highly interdisciplinary student team,” Quesnel González says. “We aim to bring together students from physics, engineering, and software across multiple EPFL sections as well as with our partners at FHNW.”

For the students involved, openness is also a core principle. "Crucially, Schiiq is 100% open source, so anyone can modify the hardware to suit their own needs and share their improvements with the community," says Quesnel González. "This creates a virtuous cycle in which components can be continually reused, adapted, and improved."

From concept to reality

The Schiiq project will collaborate closely with the Open Quantum Institute at CERN, which has as its central mission to expand access to quantum computing and develop new tools for education and capacity building. EPFL has supported the OQI since its early stages.

It was through this engagement with the OQI that Philippe Caroff, Executive Director of the QSE Center at EPFL, Vincenzo Savona, EPFL professor in the School of Basic Sciences, and Clément Javerzac, professor at FHNW and EPFL alumnus came up with the original idea for Schiiq. The idea was then presented to the EPFL QSE master’s students, who took on leadership of the project, supported by co-advisors Nicolas Macris from EPFL's School of Computer and Communication Sciences and Giovanni Boero from the School of Engineering. Pierre Chevalier Kwon, a research associate at FHNW, will serve as technical coordinator and supervisor.

Macris welcomes the project's strong student leadership. "I'm proud of the students for taking on a project with so much potential," he says. "It's exciting to see them explore how we can make many aspects of quantum computing more accessible from the very beginning."

"The need to provide broader access to quantum computing, particularly for students and researchers, is widely recognized internationally and lies at the heart of the OQI's mission," says Caroff. “Now through the Schiiq MAKE project, the students' passion and talent are turning this idea into reality.” Along with attracting students in quantum, Caroff hopes that the project will attract a broad range of expertise from beyond the quantum field.

Adds Javerzac: "By developing an affordable tabletop quantum computing device based on NMR technology and making the design fully open source, we can help lower barriers to entry and give more people around the world the opportunity to learn about and experiment with quantum computing."