Software empowers users to select quantum program transpilers without being tied to a specific vendor

A research team at Osaka University and TIS Inc. has developed software “Tranqu” that allows users to select a transpiler that converts and optimizes quantum programs for execution on quantum chips. This enables users to choose a transpiler without being tied to a specific vendor, resulting in more accurate execution outcomes.

To perform computations on a quantum computer, quantum programs written by humans must be translated into a form that quantum chips can understand. The software responsible for this translation is called a “transpiler.”

Currently, companies and research institutions offering quantum computing cloud services (hereafter referred to as “vendors”) provide vendor-specific transpilers. However, this approach presents significant challenges. Once users select a particular vendor’s service, they are effectively limited to using that vendor’s transpiler.

This is known as vendor lock-in. Vendor lock-in poses a serious problem. Since the performance of a quantum program depends heavily on the combination of the program itself and the transpiler used, no single transpiler is guaranteed to always be the best option. “Ideally, users should be able to freely choose the most suitable transpiler based on their objectives,” says Satoyuki Tsukano, a researcher of the team.

The team has created a new framework called Tranqu to address the issue of vendor lock-in. Tranqu functions as an integrated framework that supports multiple quantum programming environments and enables efficient transpilation processes.

“Current quantum computers are highly prone to noise, making it crucial to select the most suitable transpiler and its parameters for quantum programs and quantum chips,” says Tsukano. “Osaka University’s quantum cloud currently offers an automatic transpilation feature; however, only one transpiler is available for use. To enable the use of multiple transpilers, we have developed Tranqu.”

In addition, Tranqu is designed as a framework, allowing for the following expansions: integration of custom transpilers developed by researchers, support for new quantum program formats, and adaptation to different quantum chip architectures.

Tranqu is scheduled to be implemented in Osaka University’s quantum cloud. It is expected that this will allow users to freely choose a transpiler and maximize the potential of quantum computers.