Real-time quantum decoders for reliable quantum computing (SKYTALE)

A commercial-grade quantum computer would stream about 100 Terabytes of error-correction data per second—and this project builds the hardware and software to process that flood in real time. Quantum computers promise immense power, but they are fragile. Individual qubits are prone to errors, and without correction, those errors accumulate and destroy a calculation. The standard fix, quantum error correction, adds redundant qubits to detect and fix mistakes, but it generates a torrent of data that must be decoded instantly. Existing decoders are too slow or too bulky for practical machines. This project tackles that bottleneck by designing dedicated decoder chips and algorithms that can keep pace with a working quantum computer. If successful, the work removes a critical roadblock to reliable, large-scale quantum computing. That could eventually transform fields that depend on hard calculations—drug discovery, materials design, cryptography, and logistics optimisation—but the immediate impact is more fundamental: it makes the path to a useful quantum computer technically feasible. The project is squarely applied engineering, not curiosity-driven science, but without it, no quantum machine can scale beyond a few dozen error-prone qubits.