Quantum Computing is a very promising paradigm given the ability that Quantum brings in terms of recognizing patterns which their classical counterparts very likely fail at.The intersection of Quantum Computing and Machine Learning gave rise to Quantum Machine Learning, which brings the power of Quantum mechanics to accelerate the progress of Machine Learning. However, Quantum Machine Learning still has its own set of challenges, given the state of Quantum Hardware currently. Here we propose QcNet: A Hybrid Quantum-Classical Neural Network which combines a tensor network with a parameterized quantum circuit. Here we modify the Quantum Neural Network by placing the parametrized quantum circuit convolutional layer at the top followed by some classical CNN layers to make it more feasible for the near term NISQ era and to make it scale to 43 classes. The Quantum Convolutional Layer extracts the higher level features and passes it to the classical layers for further processing. Our model is an end-to-end solution to train a quantum-style model over a multi-class supervised learning problem. This model pushes the limits beyond binary or few class classification and successfully performs well over multiclass classification tasks over 43 classes of the GTSRB dataset. Also it is highly flexible and can be adopted well in the NISQ era, considering the amount of quantum resources available.
Quantum Computing is a very promising paradigm given the ability that Quantum brings in terms of recognizing patterns which their classical counterparts very likely fail at.The intersection of Quantum Computing and Machine Learning gave rise to Quantum Machine Learning, which brings the power of Quantum mechanics to accelerate the progress of Machine Learning. However, Quantum Machine Learning still has its own set of challenges, given the state of Quantum Hardware currently. Here we propose QcNet: A Hybrid Quantum-Classical Neural Network which combines a tensor network with a parameterized quantum circuit. Here we modify the Quantum Neural Network by placing the parametrized quantum circuit convolutional layer at the top followed by some classical CNN layers to make it more feasible for the near term NISQ era and to make it scale to 43 classes. The Quantum Convolutional Layer extracts the higher level features and passes it to the classical layers for further processing. Our model is an end-to-end solution to train a quantum-style model over a multi-class supervised learning problem. This model pushes the limits beyond binary or few class classification and successfully performs well over multiclass classification tasks over 43 classes of the GTSRB dataset. Also it is highly flexible and can be adopted well in the NISQ era, considering the amount of quantum resources available.
Image Classification is one of the major tasks in deep learning. Various deep learning methodologies like Quantum Neural Network are playing a vital role in classifying the images. In traditional neural networks neural layers are used to extract the features from the image to train the model where some of the details may be excluded. In quantum methodology parameterised circuits are used to identify complex boundaries to extract high quality features from the images. In the proposed method a hybrid QNN model is developed for binary image classification using quantum computing. Proposed model efficiently works by performing computation on Noise Intermediate-Scale Quantum (NISQ) devices. which represent the current forefront of quantum computing capabilities. This is achieved by integrating a small, two-qubit quantum circuit with a classical convolutional backbone using a tensor product state. The proposed model achieves a classification accuracy of 90.1% on binary image datasets, marking a significant improvement. Furthermore, we evaluate the generalization performance of both the H-QNN and baseline CNN models in image retrieval tasks. The results demonstrate the superior generalization capabilities of the H-QNN, especially in mitigating overfitting on small datasets, making it a promising solution for real-world applications.
Image classification is an important application for deep learning. With the advent of quantum technology, quantum neural networks (QNNs) have become the focus of research. Traditional deep learning-based image classification involves using a convolutional neural network (CNN) to extract features from the image and a multi-layer perceptron (MLP) network to create the decision boundaries. However, quantum circuits with parameters can extract rich features from images and also create complex decision boundaries. This paper proposes a hybrid QNN (H-QNN) model designed for binary image classification that capitalizes on the strengths of quantum computing and classical neural networks. Our H-QNN model uses a compact, two-qubit quantum circuit integrated with a classical convolutional architecture, making it highly efficient for computation on noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) devices that are currently leading the way in practical quantum computing applications. Our H-QNN model significantly enhances classification accuracy, achieving a 90.1% accuracy rate on binary image datasets. In addition, we have extensively evaluated baseline CNN and our proposed H-QNN models for image retrieval tasks. The obtained quantitative results exhibit the generalization of our H-QNN for downstream image retrieval tasks. Furthermore, our model addresses the issue of overfitting for small datasets, making it a valuable tool for practical applications.
Image classification is a fundamental task in deep learning, and recent advances in quantum computing have generated significant interest in quantum neural networks. Traditionally, Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) are employed to extract image features, while Multilayer Perceptrons (MLPs) handle decision making. However, parameterized quantum circuits offer the potential to capture complex image features and define sophisticated decision boundaries. In this paper, we present a novel Hybrid Quantum–Classical Neural Network (H-QNN) for image classification, and demonstrate its effectiveness using the MNIST dataset. Our model combines quantum computing with classical supervised learning to enhance classification accuracy and computational efficiency. In this study, we detail the architecture of the H-QNN, emphasizing its capability in feature learning and image classification. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed H-QNN model outperforms conventional deep learning methods in various training scenarios, showcasing its effectiveness in high-dimensional image classification tasks. Additionally, we explore the broader applicability of hybrid quantum–classical approaches in other domains. Our findings contribute to the growing body of work in quantum machine learning, and underscore the potential of quantum-enhanced models for image recognition and classification.
Multiclass classification is of great interest for various applications, for example, it is a common task in computer vision, where one needs to categorize an image into three or more classes. Here we propose a quantum machine learning approach based on quantum convolutional neural networks for solving the multiclass classification problem. The corresponding learning procedure is implemented via TensorFlowQuantum as a hybrid quantum-classical (variational) model, where quantum output results are fed to the softmax activation function with the subsequent minimization of the cross entropy loss via optimizing the parameters of the quantum circuit. Our conceptional improvements here include a new model for a quantum perceptron and an optimized structure of the quantum circuit. We use the proposed approach to solve a 4-class classification problem for the case of the MNIST dataset using eight qubits for data encoding and four ancilla qubits; previous results have been obtained for 3-class classification problems. Our results show that the accuracy of our solution is similar to classical convolutional neural networks with comparable numbers of trainable parameters. We expect that our findings will provide a new step toward the use of quantum neural networks for solving relevant problems in the NISQ era and beyond.
Abstract Quantum Machine Learning (QML) has emerged as a promising paradigm that leverages the principles of quantum mechanics—such as superposition and entanglement—to overcome the limitations of classical machine learning in handling complex, high-dimensional data. However, practical challenges such as limited coherence times of qubits and the integration of quantum circuits with classical architectures have hindered the full realization of QML’s potential. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel hybrid architecture, termed the Classical-Quantum Hybrid Convolutional Neural Network (CQHCNN), which integrates quantum-inspired layers into conventional deep learning frameworks. These quantum layers utilize quantum information processing to extract complex features, while the classical components perform feature extraction and classification. This paper evaluates the performance of our model on several benchmark datasets, including MNIST, Fashion-MNIST, CIFAR-10 and COVID-19 Radiography, demonstrating its ability to outperform some other Quantum Convolutional Neural Networks (QCNNs) in terms of many metrics. Experimental results indicate that the hybrid model achieves significant improvements in classification accuracy and computational efficiency, highlighting the potential of quantum-inspired techniques to enhance classical machine learning models.
Quantum machine learning is emerging as a strategy to solve real-world problems. As a quantum computing model, parameterized quantum circuits provide an approach for constructing quantum machine learning algorithms, which may either realize computational acceleration or achieve better algorithm performance than classical algorithms. Based on the parameterized quantum circuit, we propose a hybrid quantum-classical convolutional neural network (HQCCNN) model for image classification that comprises both quantum and classical components. The quantum convolutional layer is designed using a parameterized quantum circuit. It is used to perform linear unitary transformation on the quantum state to extract hidden information. In addition, the quantum pooling unit is used to perform pooling operations. After the evolution of the quantum system, we measure the quantum state and input the measurement results into a classical fully connected layer for further processing. We demonstrate its potential by applying HQCCNN to the MNIST dataset. Compared to a convolutional neural network in a similar architecture, the results reveal that HQCCNN has a faster training speed and higher testing set accuracy than a convolutional neural network.