Self-organizing Photonic Quantum Links (S-O PhoQuLis)
The S-O PhoQuLis project is funded by UniMI through the Seal of Excellence (SoE) SEED 2020 and involves two Research Units, one at the Physics Department (Prof. Simone Cialdi and Prof. Stefano Olivares, that is also the PI of the project) and one at the Computer Science Department (Prof. Nicola Basilico and Prof. Beatrice Palano).
A basic requirement for photonic quantum technologies (PQTs) is to develop high-speed photonic quantum links (PQLs) allowing for high-fidelity quantum communication, quantum key distribution and entanglement distribution in quantum networks. A PQL requires a sender (S), generating the states, and the receivers (Rs), detecting them. In order to form a PQL network, the positions of S and Rs must be set, controlled and adapted in real time. These requirements entail the adoption of time-consuming and error-prone alignment practices, limiting possible applications both in lab and in deployment settings.
The main objective of S-O PhoQuLis is to study how autonomous robotics can be employed to achieve self-organizing PQLs. To this aim, S and Rs are mounted on mobile robots which should autonomously coordinate to a final PQLsenabling arrangement. Research on autonomous mobile robots, with particular focus on multirobot systems, encloses the algorithmic frameworks and the experimental tools that are key for such a challenge.
The project will join the expertise of the involved units to design algorithms and perform simulations taking into account all the main constraints imposed by the experimental setup and environment. The contributions we shall develop can pave the way for the definition of a theory-and-practice framework for large-scale self-organizing robotic PQL networks, thus opening unprecedented opportunities for PQTs leaping out of the current lab-related implementations.