Initial Investigations at the Intersection of Automation Algorithms with Quantum Computation

Next-generation manufacturing systems will have greater autonomy and efficiency due to advances in computers, control designs, and networking that enable more data to be utilized from throughout a plant and promote more optimal decision-making. Despite the significant advances in computing power over the last decades, many complex engineering problems remain time-consuming to solve on classical computing devices, such as computational fluid dynamics and finite element analysis models. This limits the complexity of models that can be considered when designing and evaluating control strategies, and raises the question of whether quantum computers could hold any benefits for reducing computation time for process control-relevant problems in the future. The means for addressing this latter question is, however, non-obvious, so that initially exploring how control laws can be implemented on quantum computers may aid in providing direction toward answering the broader question. In this talk, we will discuss our results to date which probe the intersection of quantum computing with control, particularly focusing on control-theoretic considerations such as the conditions under which a controller implemented with the aid of a quantum computer might remain stabilizing for operation of a process, even in the presence of a non-deterministic quantum algorithm or noise in the physical device [1,2].

[1] Rangan, K. K., Oyama, H., Assoumani, I. A., Durand, H., & Simon Ng, K. Y. (2023). Cyberphysical Systems and Energy: A Discussion with Reference to an Enhanced Geothermal Process. Editor: Li, Mingheng. AIP Publishing.

[2] Nieman, K., Kasturi Rangan, K., & Durand, H. (2022). Control implemented on quantum computers: Effects of noise, nondeterminism, and entanglement. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 61(28), 10133-10155.