QuTech launches the first online platform to enable quantum network programming based on innovations developed within QIA.

Imagine it’s the 1950s and you get the chance to play around with the internet in its infancy. This was the era when web applications (like streaming), the collection of web pages (the www), or even a common way to connect (like IP addresses) were decades away from being imagined. This is where the quantum internet is now. But there’s a big difference: it’s not a closed governmental project, but an open experiment, accessible for everyone with a modern browser.

The promise of quantum networks

Just like in the earliest era of the common internet, the future of quantum networks is not set in stone. Already there are some novel applications that will fundamentally enhance internet technology. One state of the art application, for example, is Quantum Key Distribution for untappable communication. The question is: what is the quantum networking game changer and who will build it.

To contribute to building a world-wide quantum internet community, QIA partner QuTech has launched Quantum Network Explorer (QNE), the only platform world-wide to enable quantum network programming. Accessing QNE will allow researchers, students, software developers and future users of quantum network applications to explore and experience the possibilities of quantum networks.

Graphical tool and application development kit

We have built an easy-to-use graphical interface that allows you to explore pre-built applications without any programming.

To enable the community of researchers, developers, and future users, a high-level application development kit (ADK) is also made available. This ADK allows you to program new protocols and applications for real quantum networks on your own. New applications can be added to the QNE graphical user interface so others will be able to use these as well without the need to learn how to program. This ADK relies on the SDK created in QIA that makes use of QIA’s instruction set NetQASM.

Educational tools

With this product, QIA contributes to to provide educational tools to a wide community. Educators can readily design exercises and whole courses around the experiments section of QNE, because the whole website is open, free, and user friendly. An account is only required to save previous experiments.

From simulations to real hardware

External users can run their programmes on our backend simulation platforms NetSquid or SimulaQron. However, QIA partner QuTech is working hard to connect QNE to actual network hardware using QNodeOS, a platform-independent operating system for the operation of quantum networks developed also at QuTech within the QIA project.

More information

The QNE website was introduced to the world during a launch event. A recording of the event is now available on the QuTech YouTube channel and as an embedded video below. For more information on the development of QNE follow the QuTech social pages (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook).