For many social and industrial challenges, combinatorial optimization is essential for selecting the optimal items from an enormous range of choices; for example, optimizing financial transactions, the movement of industrial robots, travel and transmission routes, and molecular design for drug discovery. When using existing computers, combinatorial optimization is difficult to solve at high speeds because the number of combination patterns increases exponentially as the scale of the problem grows. For this reason, specialized combinatorial optimization computers are being actively developed in Japan and overseas.
The Simulated Bifurcation Machine, an Ising machine comprising Toshiba’s innovative quantum-inspired algorithms and corresponding computer solutions for solving combinatorial optimization problems, is the company’s star technology for bringing higher efficiencies to industry sectors that must make optimal complex decisions in short time spans, such as finance, logistics, and communications.
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Inspired by quantum technology, SQBM+ is an optimization solution derived from the Simulated Bifurcation Machine, a combinatorial optimization solver built on the Simulated Bifurcation Algorithm developed by Toshiba Corporation. Through collaborations and co-creation with expert partners, we are contributing to solutions to deeply complex problems in areas as diverse as finance, drug discovery, genetic engineering, logistics, and AI enhancement.
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We provide software, and professional services for SQBM+.
What is the Simulated Bifurcation Machine?
Originated from research on quantum bifurcation machines,
the SBM is a practical and ready-to-use ISING machine that solves large-scale "combinatorial optimization problems" at high speed.
※Simulated Bifurcation Machine=SBM
Software
No need for special hardware, can be implemented on general-purpose computers using GPUs and FPGAs and as cloud services.
Large-scale
Supports up to 10M variables.
Performance enhancement is possible by way of scale-ups and scale-outs.
Fast
100 times faster than a simulated annealing*2, now widely used to solve a Ising problem.
*1:The number of non-zero coefficients is up to 1 billion.
*2:Based on our environment
Comparison with the existing Ising machines
Achieved the scale required to solve real-world problems.
Applicable Domains
Combinatorial optimization refers to the computing process to find the best combination among an exponential number of candidates. It is usually difficult to compute but has an economical value to solve. Solving combinatorial optimization requires us to find a best reasonable solution within a practically short time.
Most combinatorial optimization problems can be mapped to the Ising problems.
Advanced cases of co-creation with partners in various fields(Catalog : PDF)
Partners
Solutions are realized by linking services and SQBM+ through cooperation with various partners who have expertise in each field.
Partner licenses are available in SQBM+.
Partners can use the functions of SQBM+ to develop new solvers themselves and provide services.
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