Small objects have become increasingly common in civil, industrial, and security sensitive environments, driving a strong demand for reliable vision-based detection and segmentation. While deep learning (DL) models have achieved impressive performance, their practicality is limited by the small sizes of objects, cluttered backgrounds, motion blur, domain shift, and the growing cost of training and inference. Quantum machine learning (QML) has recently emerged as a potential research direction for exploring alternative feature representations, optimization strategies, and learning paradigms under resource constrained conditions. However, its practical efficiency benefits for object detection and segmentation remain largely preliminary and context dependent. The literature on quantum methods for detection and segmentation is scattered across the QML, aerial vision, and remote sensing domains. We provide a structured review of quantum, hybrid quantum–classical (HQC), and quantum approaches for detection and segmentation. We classify existing methods based on four aspects: how features are encoded and represented in quantum systems, the use of quantum kernels, variational quantum circuits (VQC) for classification and detection, and quantum architectures combined with modern detection and segmentation models. We summarize the commonly used datasets for quantum techniques, evaluation protocols, and computational constraints, comparing the reported performance trends, scalability levels, and practical limitations of quantum-based methods. Finally, we identify the open challenges, including data-efficient learning, robustness to domain shift, and end-to-end quantum segmentation, along with the research directions relevant to bridging the gap between QML and real-world object perception systems.
Small objects have become increasingly common in civil, industrial, and security sensitive environments, driving a strong demand for reliable vision-based detection and segmentation. While deep learning (DL) models have achieved impressive performance, their practicality is limited by the small sizes of objects, cluttered backgrounds, motion blur, domain shift, and the growing cost of training and inference. Quantum machine learning (QML) has recently emerged as a potential research direction for exploring alternative feature representations, optimization strategies, and learning paradigms under resource constrained conditions. However, its practical efficiency benefits for object detection and segmentation remain largely preliminary and context dependent. The literature on quantum methods for detection and segmentation is scattered across the QML, aerial vision, and remote sensing domains. We provide a structured review of quantum, hybrid quantum–classical (HQC), and quantum approaches for detection and segmentation. We classify existing methods based on four aspects: how features are encoded and represented in quantum systems, the use of quantum kernels, variational quantum circuits (VQC) for classification and detection, and quantum architectures combined with modern detection and segmentation models. We summarize the commonly used datasets for quantum techniques, evaluation protocols, and computational constraints, comparing the reported performance trends, scalability levels, and practical limitations of quantum-based methods. Finally, we identify the open challenges, including data-efficient learning, robustness to domain shift, and end-to-end quantum segmentation, along with the research directions relevant to bridging the gap between QML and real-world object perception systems.
Abstract Image segmentation remains one of the most extensively studied problems in computer vision, with applications ranging from medical image analysis and autonomous driving to remote sensing and industrial inspection. While deep learning approaches currently dominate the field, interest in quantum computing has motivated the development of quantum and quantum-inspired segmentation techniques that explore alternative strategies for image representation, optimization, and learning. This survey provides a comprehensive review of quantum and quantum-inspired image segmentation methods within the broader context of modern segmentation research. To establish this context, we first examine the evolution of image segmentation methodologies, covering classical image processing techniques, machine learning approaches, and contemporary deep learning architectures.We then organize the existing quantum image segmentation literature into four categories: quantum-inspired, tensor network-based, hybrid quantum-classical, and fully quantum methods. Across these categories, we analyze computational principles, image encoding and representation strategies, application domains, and datasets. We further compare quantum and quantum-inspired approaches with established segmentation paradigms in terms of supervision, scalability, and hardware requirements. Our analysis indicates that quantum-inspired methods currently represent the most developed direction, while hybrid approaches are emerging and fully quantum methods remain constrained by quantum hardware, data encoding costs, and scalability challenges. By connecting quantum image segmentation with the broader evolution of segmentation research, this survey provides a unified perspective on the field. It identifies current trends, open challenges, and promising future directions for researchers exploring the emerging role of quantum computing in image segmentation.
Abstract The convergence of quantum computing and medical image analysis has emerged as a promising frontier for advancing diagnostic intelligence beyond the limits of classical machine learning. Recent developments in quantum hardware and quantum machine learning (QML) algorithms have stimulated growing interest in their potential to enhance complex medical imaging tasks, including disease classification, image segmentation, and clinical decision support (Wei et al., 2023; Ullah and Garcia-Zapirain, 2024). This study presents a comprehensive review and synthesis of state-of-the-art QML methodologies applied to medical imaging, systematically examining both theoretical foundations and empirical implementations. We analyze quantum-based and hybrid quantum–classical models employed across modalities such as MRI, CT, X-ray, and histopathological imaging, with particular attention to classification accuracy, computational efficiency, and diagnostic robustness (Maheshwari et al., 2022; ElBedoui et al., 2025). Our findings reveal clear trends indicating that hybrid quantum–classical approaches currently dominate practical applications, consistently outperforming purely classical baselines in select low-dimensional and domain-specific diagnostic tasks. Performance gains are most evident in feature-rich yet data-constrained scenarios, where quantum kernels and variational circuits demonstrate enhanced representational capacity (Ajlouni et al., 2023; Landman et al., 2022). However, these advantages remain context-dependent and sensitive to noise, circuit depth, and encoding strategies. Overall, QML holds significant promise for improving medical image-based diagnosis, but its widespread clinical adoption is constrained by hardware scalability, limited qubit coherence, and unresolved data encoding challenges. Addressing these limitations will be critical for translating QML from experimental feasibility to routine medical practice (Marengo and Santamato, 2025; Rawas and AlSaeed, 2026).
Quantum Machine Learning (QML) and Quantum Deep Learning (QDL) are emerging research areas that combine quantum computing with machine learning and deep learning techniques.These approaches aim to improve computational speed, feature representation, optimisation, and learning performance in complex data-driven problems.This review paper presents a structured discussion of recent developments in QML and QDL, focusing on major algorithms, application areas, implementation approaches, current limitations, and future research directions.The review covers important quantum-based learning methods, including quantum support vector machines, quantum k-nearest neighbours, quantum principal component analysis, quantum neural networks, variational quantum classifiers, quantum convolutional neural networks, quantum reinforcement learning, quantum generative models, and hybrid quantum-classical models.The paper also discusses how these methods are being explored in healthcare, finance, cybersecurity, communication networks, image processing, natural language processing, and optimisation.However, the review shows that most QML and QDL models are still in the early stages of research.Current challenges include noisy quantum hardware, limited qubit count, data encoding issues, circuit design problems, difficulties with model training, and a lack of standardised benchmarks.The review concludes that QML and QDL have strong future potential, but their practical success depends on improved hardware, stronger algorithms, reliable frameworks, and fair comparison with classical models.
Quantum Machine Learning represents a paradigm shift at the intersection of Quantum Computing and Machine Learning, leveraging quantum phenomena such as superposition, entanglement, and quantum parallelism to address the limitations of classical approaches in processing high-dimensional and large-scale datasets. This survey provides a comprehensive analysis of Quantum Machine Learning, detailing foundational concepts, algorithmic advancements, and their applications across domains such as healthcare, finance, and quantum chemistry. Key techniques, including Quantum Support Vector Machine, Quantum Neural Network, Quantum Decision Trees, and hybrid quantum-classical models, are explored with a focus on their theoretical foundations, computational benefits, and comparative performance against classical counterparts. While the potential for exponential speedups and enhanced efficiency is evident, the field faces significant challenges, including hardware constraints, noise, and limited qubit coherence in the current era of Noisy Intermediate-Scale Quantum devices. Emerging solutions, such as error mitigation techniques, hybrid frameworks, and advancements in quantum hardware, are discussed as critical enablers for scalable and fault-tolerant Quantum Machine Learning systems. By synthesizing state-of-the-art developments and identifying research gaps, this survey aims to provide a foundational resource for advancing Quantum Machine Learning toward practical, real-world applications in tackling computationally intensive problems.
Quantum Machine Learning (QML) has become an important research area in recent years due to its potential to overcome the computational bottlenecks faced by classical machine learning methods. In this study, only SCI/SCI-Expanded journal articles published between 2023 and 2025 and accepted as early access for 2026 are considered, and 30 such articles are systematically examined to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current state of QML methods. The reviewed literature covers variational quantum circuits, quantum kernel methods, hybrid quantum–classical models, quantum annealing approaches, federated QML architectures, data encoding strategies, and adversarial robustness analyses. The findings indicate that QML models can exhibit stronger representational capacity and higher generalization performance compared to classical methods, particularly on high-dimensional, noisy, or small sample datasets. Reported results in domains such as healthcare, chemistry, energy systems, cybersecurity, blockchain, and finance reveal the diversity of QML applications and its interdisciplinary potential. Nevertheless, the limited qubit capacity of current NISQ hardware, constraints on circuit depth, and noise-related issues remain fundamental factors that restrict the scalability of QML models. This study synthesizes methodological trends, identifies open research problems, and proposes a directional roadmap for future QML research focused on hardware-aware circuit design, efficient data encoding schemes, and robust learning frameworks.
Abstract - The exponential growth of large-scale data has created significant challenges in storage, processing, and optimization that classical computing systems struggle to address efficiently. Quantum Machine Learning (QML) has emerged as a promising paradigm that integrates quantum computing concepts with machine learning techniques to tackle complex big data optimization problems. By utilizing quantum features such as superposition, entanglement, and parallelism, QML algorithms can accelerate tasks like clustering, classification, and dimensionality reduction, which are traditionally computationally demanding. Recent advancements indicate strong potential for quantum-inspired optimization in fields including cybersecurity, financial portfolio management, Industry 4.0, and healthcare analytics. This paper provides a comprehensive survey of QML algorithms designed for big data optimization, examining their advantages, limitations, and application domains. Additionally, it discusses the performance trade-offs associated with hybrid quantum–classical frameworks and highlights future research directions aimed at creating secure, scalable, and resource-efficient quantum solutions for large-scale, data-driven decision-making. As data volumes continue to expand at extremely rapid rates, processing big data with traditional machine learning (ML) techniques has become increasingly challenging. ML models often struggle with issues related to computational power, efficient parameter tuning, accurate model selection, and maintaining high performance when dealing with massive datasets. Deep learning approaches—such as convolutional neural networks (CNNs)—demand substantial computational resources to train on large-scale supervised learning tasks. Moreover, the difficulty of training these networks grows significantly as the size and complexity of the datasets increase. In response to these limitations, Quantum Machine Learning (QML) has emerged as a promising research domain at the intersection of quantum computing and machine learning. Quantum computers operate fundamentally differently from classical systems, using the principles of quantum mechanics to encode and process information. As a result, quantum computational methods have the potential to address certain problems that are computationally intensive or infeasible for classical machines. Index Terms— Quantum Machine Learning (QML); Big Data Optimization; Quantum Algorithms; Hybrid Quantum-Classical Models; Quantum Computing; Data Analytics