We put out a call for tenders to find support for our mobility project QCMobility | Maritime Transport. BearingPoint has now been awarded the contract. The management and technology consulting company from Frankfurt am Main will develop a compiler for us to solve optimisation tasks. Specific use case: lock management.
Waterways for freight transport are lifelines of internationally networked trade. Locks for inland shipping pose a particular challenge for the efficient transport of goods. As a typical optimisation problem with a major impact, QCMobility | Maritime Transport is investigating whether lock management can be optimised with the help of quantum computers. The specific use case is the optimisation of lock operations on the Wesel-Datteln Canal – the second busiest waterway in Germany after the Rhine. To develop this use case, BearingPoint and its subcontractors will use real data and take a holistic view of journeys through several locks.
By awarding this contract, the DLR Institute of Systems Engineering for Future Mobility, which is responsible for QCMobility | Maritime Transport, hopes to determine the potential of using quantum computing to solve complex problems in the coordination of traffic on waterways. The aim is to compare the current state of development of quantum computing and quantum algorithms with optimisation methods currently in use. The results will be directly incorporated into current projects to increase the resilience and optimisation of waterway infrastructure with regard to future challenges in inland navigation.
Diverse expertise
QCMobility | Maritime Transport is a sub-project of our multifaceted mobility project QCMobility. The DLR Institute of Systems Engineering for Future Mobility is in charge of the project. The overall QCMobility project is coordinated by the DLR Institute of Quantum Technologies. BearingPoint brings its own expertise in the field of quantum logic and algorithms and a broad understanding of user requirements to this assignment, and contributes further expertise to the project via subcontracts:
– Fraunhofer CML with its extensive experience in maritime logistics, for example the optimisation of shipping channels and lockage processes
– Fraunhofer FOKUS with further experience from the optimisation of shipping channels and lockage processes and the programming implementation with core personnel from the development of the Qrisp programming language, and
– the quantum computer manufacturer – and DLR QCI contractor – Planqc, which incorporates the experience gained from hardware development and the reality check regarding hardware requirements.
