A quantum network may be realized by the entanglement of particles communicated by qubits between quantum computers, where the entangled photons of light are transferred for communication purposes. This technology has been proven to be feasible experimentally through free-space distribution of entangled photon pairs. Sending photons of light through nonlinear crystals produces correlated photon pairs, by splitting each photon into two half particles with each particle having the same level of energy, which results in entangled pairs. This entanglement is represented by photons, having both either horizontal or vertical polarization. This paper investigates collaborative robotic tasks of unmanned systems in a network where the agents are entangled. For instance, a leader robot sends two identical photons (e.g. with vertical polarization) to two follower robots/autonomous vehicles to communicate information about various tasks such as swarm, formation, trajectory tracking, path following and collaborative tasks. The potential advantages of quantum cooperation of robotic agents is the speed of the process, the ability to achieve security with immunity against cyberattacks, and fault tolerance, through entanglement. If a Quantum Network is implemented in a robotic application, it would present an effective solution; for example, for a group of unmanned systems working securely together. An analytical basis of such systems is investigated in this paper, and the formulation of quantum cooperation of unmanned systems is presented and discussed. The concept of experimental quantum entanglement, as well as quantum cryptography (QC), for robotics applications is presented.
A quantum network may be realized by the entanglement of particles communicated by qubits between quantum computers, where the entangled photons of light are transferred for communication purposes. This technology has been proven to be feasible experimentally through free-space distribution of entangled photon pairs. Sending photons of light through nonlinear crystals produces correlated photon pairs, by splitting each photon into two half particles with each particle having the same level of energy, which results in entangled pairs. This entanglement is represented by photons, having both either horizontal or vertical polarization. This paper investigates collaborative robotic tasks of unmanned systems in a network where the agents are entangled. For instance, a leader robot sends two identical photons (e.g. with vertical polarization) to two follower robots/autonomous vehicles to communicate information about various tasks such as swarm, formation, trajectory tracking, path following and collaborative tasks. The potential advantages of quantum cooperation of robotic agents is the speed of the process, the ability to achieve security with immunity against cyberattacks, and fault tolerance, through entanglement. If a Quantum Network is implemented in a robotic application, it would present an effective solution; for example, for a group of unmanned systems working securely together. An analytical basis of such systems is investigated in this paper, and the formulation of quantum cooperation of unmanned systems is presented and discussed. The concept of experimental quantum entanglement, as well as quantum cryptography (QC), for robotics applications is presented.
The intersection of Quantum Technologies and Robotics Autonomy is explored in the present paper. The two areas are brought together in establishing an interdisciplinary interface that contributes to advancing the field of system autonomy, and pushes the engineering boundaries beyond the existing techniques. The present research adopts the experimental aspects of quantum entanglement and quantum cryptography, and integrates these established quantum capabilities into distributed robotic platforms, to explore the possibility of achieving increased autonomy for the control of multi-agent robotic systems engaged in cooperative tasks. Experimental quantum capabilities are realized by producing single photons (using spontaneous parametric down-conversion process), polarization of photons, detecting vertical and horizontal polarizations, and single photon detecting/counting. Specifically, such quantum aspects are implemented on network of classical agents, i.e., classical aerial and ground robots/unmanned systems. With respect to classical systems for robotic applications, leveraging quantum technology is expected to lead to guaranteed security, very fast control and communication, and unparalleled quantum capabilities such as entanglement and quantum superposition that will enable novel applications.
The intersection of Quantum Technologies and Robotics Autonomy is explored in the present paper. The two areas are brought together in establishing an interdisciplinary interface that contributes to advancing the field of system autonomy, and pushes the engineering boundaries beyond the existing techniques. The present research adopts the experimental aspects of quantum entanglement and quantum cryptography, and integrates these established quantum capabilities into distributed robotic platforms, to explore the possibility of achieving increased autonomy for the control of multi-agent robotic systems engaged in cooperative tasks. Experimental quantum capabilities are realized by producing single photons (using spontaneous parametric down-conversion process), polarization of photons, detecting vertical and horizontal polarizations, and single photon detecting/counting. Specifically, such quantum aspects are implemented on network of classical agents, i.e., classical aerial and ground robots/unmanned systems. With respect to classical systems for robotic applications, leveraging quantum technology is expected to lead to guaranteed security, very fast control and communication, and unparalleled quantum capabilities such as entanglement and quantum superposition that will enable novel applications.
Abstract In this paper the procedure for automating the photon quantum experiments for mobile robotic applications is presented. Due to the rapid advances of quantum technologies and quantum engineering, the integration of quantum capabilities in robotic and autonomous systems will be inevitable, and therefore the study and investigation of compatibility and adaptability of quantum systems and classical autonomous systems is of great importance. In a quantum-classical hybrid setup, the source of single photon generation is placed on a leader robot which can send correlated single photons to robot followers. In the case of quantum entanglement, spontaneous parametric down-conversion process using nonlinear paired BBO crystals is implemented which sends entangled photons to the single photon counting modules installed on mobile robots. In the case of quantum cryptography, single photons are sent from Alice robot to Bob robot, where Alice has the course of single photon and Bob has a polarizing beamsplitter and two detectors and that can detect the polarization of photons as vertical and horizontal. Bob then can convert the polarizations to a digital signals as zeros and ones and use them as communication information for control purposes through a classical channel. Motorized optics equipment can automatically align the source of photons to detectors on the mobile robots. The automated alignment procedure is one of the key enabling technologies in integrating quantum capabilities with control of mobile robotic systems. In this paper, in particular, the automated alignment is studied while considering the uncertainties in the dynamic of the system which can potentially cause the alignment task very challenging. The uncertainty analysis in the automated alignment is implemented by Optimal Uncertainty Quantification technique to ensure achieving the quantum control of the robotic systems and presented here for the first time.
This paper discusses collaboration of autonomous unmanned systems in the presence of cyber-physical attacks, inspired by Quantum Entanglement (QE). QE describes a quantum state of correlated pairs or groups of particles as a whole while interacting, even for the particles separated by a large distance. The QE is a physical phenomenon at the molecular level and below, and the effects of QE would quickly be lost at the macroscopic scale due to the interactions of the system with the environment and the exchange of thermal radiation. However, entanglement between animals and in the biological domain have been suggested, such as the hypotheses of quantum computations, which rely on QE that is taking place in the brain, and quantum cooperation of two ants, or two distant butterflies. The present research discusses scenarios of autonomous systems maintaining their collaboration even if the communication is lost between them, and they are separated by a large distance, inspired by QE.
This paper addresses the application of quantum entanglement and cryptography for automation and control of dynamic systems. A dynamic system is a system where the rates of changes of its state variables are not negligible. Quantum entanglement is realized by the Spontaneous Parametric Down-conversion process. Two entangled autonomous systems exhibit correlated behavior without any classical communication in between them due to the quantum entanglement phenomenon. Specifically, the behavior of a system, Bob, at a distance, is correlated with a corresponding system, Alice. In an automation scenario, the “Bob Robot” is entangled with the “Alice Robot” in performing autonomous tasks without any classical connection between them. Quantum cryptography is a capability that allows guaranteed security. Such capabilities can be implemented in control of autonomous mechanical systems where, for instance, an “Alice Autonomous System” can control a “Bob Autonomous System” for applications of automation and robotics. The applications of quantum technologies to mechanical systems, at a scale larger than the atomistic scale, for control and automation, is a novel contribution of this paper. Notably, the feedback control transfer function of an integrated classical dynamic system and a quantum state is proposed.
This paper addresses the application of quantum entanglement and cryptography for automation and control of dynamic systems. A dynamic system is a system where the rates of changes of its state variables are not negligible. Quantum entanglement is realized by the Spontaneous Parametric Down-conversion process. Two entangled autonomous systems exhibit correlated behavior without any classical communication in between them due to the quantum entanglement phenomenon. Specifically, the behavior of a system, Bob, at a distance, is correlated with a corresponding system, Alice. In an automation scenario, the 'Bob Robot' is entangled with the 'Alice Robot' in performing autonomous tasks without any classical connection between them. Quantum cryptography is a capability that allows guaranteed security. Such capabilities can be implemented in control of autonomous mechanical systems where, for instance, an 'Alice Autonomous System' can control a 'Bob Autonomous System' for applications of automation and robotics. The applications of quantum technologies to mechanical systems, at a scale larger than the atomistic scale, for control and automation, is a novel contribution of this paper. Notably, the feedback control transfer function of an integrated classical dynamic system and a quantum state is proposed.