Cutting-Edge Quantum Transports Will Take the European Automobile Industry to New Heights

Players in the automotive industry are investigating the potential of quantum computing as it approaches reality.

Technology innovation has a long and illustrious history in the European vehicle industry. Europe has always been at the forefront of the industry, from the Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau in 1898 to the marvel that is the 2023 McLaren Artura. So, let's think about what the future holds.

It's a brave new world for car manufacturers. The combustion engine is becoming extinct after a century of advancement and improvement as Europe moves toward sustainable energy. However, electric motors are only one component of the future of automobiles. The advent of completely driverless vehicles could be just around the corner, and the promise of a battery with a million miles of range is becoming closer. European automakers are working more frequently with quantum computing firms to negotiate the path to these technologies.

The industry needs to make a quantum leap forward in its future steps. Although they are still in their infancy, quantum computing and other quantum-based technologies can help the car sector in a variety of ways. The low-hanging fruit is autonomous driving. Despite the early hoopla, automakers and researchers are still trying to figure out how to create self-driving cars. Every stride forward made by businesses like BMW, Tesla, and Waymo seems to be accompanied by hundreds of edge cases that the AI is unable to handle.

A quantum computer that can fit inside a car and serve as the vehicle's brain is probably still a long way off. However, quantum speedup—the capacity of quantum processors to carry out operations and/or run algorithms that a classical system couldn't do in a useful period—could provide advancements in several key areas for autonomous vehicle systems.

Recently, researchers at Terra Quantum AG teamed up with Volkswagen to explore cutting-edge approaches for employing hybrid quantum neural networks to enhance image recognition. This specific experiment showed how quantum technologies can significantly enhance the quality assurance procedure. In essence, the researchers used quantum-powered AI to boost the precision of its image-detection capabilities to enhance the caliber of the car-making process. The methods they're developing might easily be applied to other fields, but they could also be used to improve the "eyes" of self-driving cars by speeding up and improving the accuracy of neural network image processing.

Another quantum-related project involved a collaboration between BMW and the Paris-based quantum firm Pasqual. The business wants to work with the German-owned automaker to develop new, stronger, lighter materials for making cars. To assure a clean energy approach to every step of the car-making process, the team aspires to eventually arrive at a stage where the design process is quick, precise, and requires zero prototyping.

The market for quantum technologies is expected to reach nearly $500B by 2030, according to experts. BMW and Volkswagen are early adopters out in front of the impending quantum computing hardware explosion. However, you can be sure that every other major automaker also has a plan to get in on the action. Additionally, the change to autonomous vehicles (and away from ownership) will call for a completely new perspective on supply and logistics, an area in which the quantum industry has made significant investments.

The future of manufacturing as a whole, not just the car industry, is quantum, in the end. But before things truly get going, it can take some time. The good news is that, according to our analysis, automakers can profit from becoming early adopters in the fast-growing European quantum startup sector.