Quantum Computing Challenge – Apply Now!

Deadline Date: April 30, 2024

Donor Name: Airbus

Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

Airbus and BMW Group have joined forces to support the launch of the Airbus-BMW Group Quantum Computing Challenge (ABQCC) under the motto “The Quantum Mobility Quest”.

This challenge is the first-of-its-kind, bringing together two global industry leaders to harness quantum technologies for real-world industrial applications, unlocking the potential to forge more efficient, sustainable and safer solutions for the future of transportation.

In 2024, The Quantum Insider will be the host of the challenge and is sponsored by Airbus and BMW Group, with the support of AWS.

Forward Track Challenges

• Smart Coating
  • Investigating Quantum Computing for Corrosion Inhibition
    • The mitigation of surface degradation processes is essential in prolonging the lifespan of Airbus and BMW Group products, improving operational efficiency, optimizing maintenance plans, and ultimately reducing costs. The degradation of the surface is initiated when mechanical damage in the coating exposes the underlying layer of aluminium to the surrounding atmosphere. In a smart coating material, an inhibitor is embedded within the coating matrix and, upon the damage, form a protective layer blocking the advancement of the aluminium degradation.
    • The goal of this challenge is to model the process of adsorption of inhibitors on an aluminium surface and to understand the binding properties using quantum methods.
• Quantum-Powered Logistics
  • Towards an Efficient and Sustainable Supply Chain
    • Transport and logistics between manufacturing sites significantly contributes to the carbon-dioxide emissions and drives industrial efficiency and cost. In particular, the complexity of mobility products like vehicles and aircraft leads to highly complex supply chains. Airbus and BMW Group are both committed to reducing their carbon – dioxide emissions and to ensuring a reliable and efficient supply chain for their manufacturing processes.
    • The objective of this use case is to elaborate a quantum solution for a manufacturing supply chain problem respecting the driving application constraints.
• Quantum-Enhanced Autonomy
  • Augmenting Generative AI for Critical Test Scenario Images
    • Future autonomous mobility will rely heavily on reliable and safe AI vision systems, being an essential brick for autonomous driving of vehicles but also for automated landing of aircraft. To achieve the highest level of safety, it is necessary to have access to representative datasets of images specially for critical test scenarios. Those include lower visibility during night-time as well as adverse weather, intricate traffic patterns, and obstructions on runways. Quantum computers offer potential advantages for such challenges compared to their classical counterparts.
    • This problem statement focuses on the generation of images that encapsulate critical scenarios using quantum generative modeling techniques.
• Quantum Solvers
  • Predictive Aeroacoustic & Aerodynamic modeling
    • The ability to accurately predict aerodynamic flows and the propagation of sound waves are key capabilities in the mobility industry, with high relevance both for the automotive and aviation sector. This ability enables the development of high-quality products with supreme performances, e.g. reducing noise pollution and lowering carbon emissions. In this context, it is paramount to solve partial differential equations describing multi-scale problems with many millions of degrees of freedom, limited by the available computational power of High Performance Computing systems.
    • This problem statement focuses on finding most suitable quantum-based approaches to solve the relevant aerodynamic and acoustic equations.

Reverse Track Challenge

• The Golden App: Pushing the Boundaries of Quantum Tech for Mobility
  • Typical approaches nudge quantum technology to the most driving challenges, which, however, often are not quantum native! Airbus and BMW Group are both leading companies in the automotive and aerospace sector, respectively, and committed to embracing quantum technology as early adopters as part of their innovation strategies. While quantum computing appears to have gained a foothold in various areas, they ponder whether the “golden app” for mobility remains unveiled.
  • In this challenge, they invite you to propose novel solutions for both hardware and software where you see a large potential but where the relevance for the mobility sector still needs to be proven.

Prize

• They are planning to award one (monetary) prize of €30,000 for each of the four use cases and for the reverse track case, so five in total.  A jury composed of world-leading quantum computing experts will team up with the organizers to evaluate submitted proposals and to select the winners.

Criteria

• Forward Track
  • Four use-cases covering four application domains have been formulated together with the experts of Airbus and BMW Group.
  • The use-cases are hosted during the full challenge duration on a dedicated digital platform in open access for users-solution providers, who will submit their solutions and benchmarks.
  • The Phase I of the challenge is dedicated to exploration of solution space, and search for new original ways of approaching real-life mobility challenges using quantum and quantum-inspired technologies.
• Reverse Track
  • Quantum technology providers will be required to describe their technology providing examples of potential application areas (sustainability, safety, automated driving, logistics,) that could be of interest for the mobility industry.
  • The submission should be completed by a feasibility study and argumentation of future potential/business relevance for the automotive and/or aerospace industry.

For more information, visit Airbus.