BMW looks to quantum computers to speed R&D

BMW has become the latest company to give quantum an early chance, with the goal of shrinking development cycles beyond traditional means. Quantum computing systems and software startup Pasqal announced that it is partnering with the German automaker, which will use the French biz's proprietary differential-equation-solving …

[DJO]

Looking in the right direction?

If BMW have a shitload of differential equations to solve maybe instead of looking to the mystic quantum future they might consider analogue computers which can rapidly zip through differential equations.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Looking in the right direction?

Or CMAES, or anything under the org.apache.commons.math3.optim branch.

They probably do now, like all of us use digital algos for this. We even have our own special optimizers, and I'm sure so does BMW have its tweaked optmizers.

I'm not so triggered by this, at least Pasqal are genuinely explaining their offering. Most of the companies in this space are offering the "mystical benefits of quantum". Here Pasqal are stating what it is, an electric circuit computer that optmizes non-linear equations.

Which, yeh, that's what it is. That's what it does. I can see why BMW would try it out and compare the results to see if it works better than their own optimizer. They have the money, they're not being scammed here.

[MJI]

They should bring back exciting cars

I remember when they were the Ultimate Driving Machines.

Drop the toddler trikes. Remember your own advert where you took the pee out of front drive cars.

Bring back a modern small light saloon along the lines of the 2002TI.

[jmch]

Re: They should bring back exciting cars

I'm not sure how closely the car division is related to the motorbike division, but this latter has certainly gone back to producing some more exciting machinery after a period around 2000-2010 where it was all about new electronics and very little about new machinery.

The S1000 RR and R nineT were both game-changing in their respective genres

[werdsmith]

Re: They should bring back exciting cars

Bring back a modern small light saloon along the lines of the 2002TI

Such cars haven’t really got much of a future, but have a look at their M2 CS.

They never were “Ultimate Driving Machines”. That’s just marketing because there’s one born every minute.

[Chz]

Re: They should bring back exciting cars

No, but they were the ultimate driving sedan that you could carry your family around in once upon a time. Not a patch on a real sports car, but decidedly more exciting than anything else with 4 doors.

[MJI]

Re: They should bring back exciting cars

TBH I would have prefered the sportiest Carlton, more room in them than a 5 series.

[Anonymous Coward]

Cloud-based... quantum processors...

but where's the blockchain?

[Korev]

Re: Cloud-based... quantum processors...

AI don't know where it is

[Anonymous Coward]

Quantum computing? Just use the indicators

[Hubert Cumberdale]

BMWs have indicators?

[werdsmith]

BMWs have indicators?

Of course they do, so do Audis. They are required because when used in hazard flasher mode they permit the driver to park anywhere they like.

[MJI]

There are a few types of BMW driver.

Most common are

UDM customers, they drive them for the pleasure of driving, makes up a high percentage of decent BMW drivers, eg M5 owners

Badge drivers, they would drive a teapot with the correct badge, they are buying all the junk ones like the toddler trikes. Also tends to be the company car drivers with low engine specs.

Want a nice car drivers, they tend to buy 3 & 5 series and the like, and just want a nice car.

The middle group is most common and most likely to drive like a twat.

[werdsmith]

The middle group is most common and most likely to drive like a twat.

The vast majority were marketing led inadequates who drive like twats. The BMW image naturally attracted the road jerk. However, when Bangle got involved with styling, there was a mass exodus of jerks to Audi which is why the Audi driver has assumed the role of total wanker driver now.

[MJI]

Quite a few in Mercs as well.

I do not like Audis except for the orignal Quattro.

And most BMWs leave me cold.

[MachDiamond]

Thinking throwing a computer at it will solve the problem

It used to be thought that a powerful enough computer would be able to forecast the weather further out. It turns out that the belief was poppycock.

If BMW believes that they'll be able to simulate a car in such detail that all of the component parts will be perfect the first time around, they need to talk with the weather guys. I'm a very hardware oriented person and have been making things for decades of my life. In the beginning I was more about taking them apart according to the mom. Never plan on anything manufactured being right on the first go. It does happen, but it's rare thing. Budget for the time and expense and deal with it. If you do it all in the computer and send it to the machine shop, there is a good chance that some aspect is going to be problematic. I learned to be a much better designer when I started machining the parts I designed and had to hold a part or a tolerance. That's never the case in a company such as BMW. Many of their engineers probably can't identify the smell of coolant for a CNC mill much less make heads or tails of all of those buttons. They haven't had to design a holding fixture for the later stages of the machining process that has to be many times more precise to hold an insane tolerance and then tram that into the mill. A shop I used for some of my parts had a job in from Sikorsky made from aluminum with very fine tolerances. He could only run them in the morning since by afternoon it was too hot in the shop and the aluminum would expand. I was shaking my head since these parts go in a helicopter that need to operate in a wide array of temperatures and can spend time sitting out in the sun. A quantum computer would need to be sentient to understand the issue. GIGO.