Video game designed to help develop circuits for quantum computers

New Scientist : Inspired by the crowdsourced game Foldit, in which players work to create viable proteins, Simon Devitt of the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science in Saitama, Japan, and his colleagues have developed a game to help find potential designs for quantum computers. In meQuanics, players are presented circuits as 3D puzzles and are given tools to shrink and reshape the circuits without breaking the functionality of the circuit. This process is based on a technique called topological error correction. The goal is to shrink complex circuits into the smallest shape that maintains the overall structure of the design. Currently, the process is too complex for computers to handle, so RIKEN’s team decided to crowdsource the effort. The researchers have a prototype of the game available and have launched a Kickstarter to fund the development of a full version for smart phones.