Those people in Australia have a different approach from us. We're using photons... and they're using the spin of an electron in one of the silicon quantum dots. So it is a different approach and both have their merits. We're going to stick with the photonic approach.
We do collaborate with some other groups in Europe. We are involved in some European-funded projects in the area of quantum computing. There is a big global effort on at the minute to develop the quantum computer and we are a part of that.
I think there is a lot of collaboration at the minute on the global scale to develop these devices and I can see that continuing.
It might change when it gets very close to market, but for the time being I see a lot of collaboration going on between the different groups because the technology involves so many different aspects. It is difficult for one group to master all of the different aspects that are needed.
It really requires collaboration to tackle all of these things.
What is the next step on from quantum computing?
I don't know. The quantum computer would unlock vast computing power and solve our computing needs for quite a few years I think.
I'm not sure I can see what lies beyond that.
