Poughkeepsie Unveiled as Location of World’s Fastest Computer
Very soon, companies from all over the world will be flocking to Poughkeepsie just for a chance to use a groundbreaking new computer.
On Tuesday, IBM Chairman, President and CEO Ginni Rometty addressed crowds at CES. The yearly consumer electronics show is where companies traditionally unveil their newest innovations and biggest products of the year. It was expected that IBM would be talking about their advancements in Quantum Computing, but somehow Poughkeepsie, New York wound up becoming the focus of the entire computing world.
IBM revealed plans to open its first IBM Q Quantum Computation Center for commercial clients in Poughkeepsie, New York. Starting in 2019, the center will give companies a chance to use the computing power of the company's new Q System One. The computer is the world's first integrated universal approximate quantum computing system designed for scientific and commercial use. That may sound like a mouthful, but for many major industries, it's a total game changer.
Regular computers, like the one you're reading this on now, use 1s and 0s to make very fast calculations. Over the past few decades, transistors have been shrunk down to microscopic sizes, allowing computers and smartphones to make lightning-fast calculations. While today's computers are extremely fast, there are still some problems and calculations that are still way too complex for any traditional computer to solve.
Advances in medicine, artificial intelligence, finance and other industries have been handcuffed by the limitations of the classic computer. That's where Quantum Computing comes in. Instead of using just 1s and 0s, Quantum Computers use superconductors to make millions of these calculations in the same amount of time. This mind-blowing computer power is the key to unlocking complex mathematical and scientific mysteries that classic computers would take centuries to process.
Until now, Quantum Computers were only available in the lab. But with their announcement yesterday, IBM will now make this awesome computing power available to private businesses and companies at the new IBM Q Quantum Computation Center in Poughkeepsie. The possibilities for medical companies, financial institutions and other businesses that are limited by classic computers are endless. And all of that data from around the globe will be crunched right here in the Hudson Valley.
Pretty cool, huh?
The Poughkeepsie center is expected to open sometime later this year.