Beyond the Lab: Quantum Technology’s Real-World Revolution

10 February 2025

Author: Ishika Joshi, Policy Researcher, QETCI

While headlines focus on the race for quantum computing supremacy, a quieter transformation is unfolding across industries from smartphone security to agriculture, from brain imaging to GPS-free navigation. The promise of quantum technology has long been confined to theoretical physics and academic labs, but quantum products are now protecting data, navigating aircraft, and redefining what’s possible at the intersection of physics and daily life.

What makes this moment unique isn’t just the technology, it’s the diversity of applications. Quantum technologies that were once confined to physics laboratories are now being harnessed by cybersecurity experts, aerospace engineers, materials scientists, and healthcare innovators. These products tackle existing challenges with unprecedented efficiency while also addressing problems that remain beyond the reach of classical technology. From Samsung phones using post-quantum cryptography to wearable helmets reading brain activity through quantum magnetic sensors, the quantum era is materializing in ways both profound and practical.

QUANTUM COMMUNICATION & CRYPTOGRAPHY

QNu Labs Q-ORE: Quantum-Safe Drone Communication

India’s QNu Labs has developed Q-ORE, an end-to-end quantum-safe communication platform specifically designed for unmanned aerial vehicles and drone operations. This lightweight, modular system combines post-quantum encryption (CRYSTALS-Kyber) with true quantum random number generation to secure drone telemetry, video feeds, and command signals. With built-in tamper detection and hardware root-of-trust, Q-ORE addresses the growing threat of electronic warfare against UAV fleets.

The company’s broader quantum portfolio includes Armos (Quantum Key Distribution systems delivered to the Indian Navy and Army), Tropos (Quantum Random Number Generators), and QShield (a unified quantum security platform). QNu Labs represents India’s emergence as a quantum cryptography powerhouse, with products already deployed in defense and critical infrastructure.[1]

Boeing Q4S: Quantum Networking in Space

Q4S is a quantum entanglement swapping experiment in space intended to help lay the groundwork for a future global quantum internet. As quantum technologies mature and move beyond the laboratory, Q4S explores how space-based platforms could support long-distance quantum communication. Boeing is pursuing this effort through a demonstration satellite scheduled for launch in 2026, reflecting its aim to push the boundaries of quantum technology and assess its potential for global-scale applications.

The mission involves two entangled-photon pair sources onboard the spacecraft. Precision optics are used to manipulate quantum states, while single-photon-sensitive detectors verify whether entanglement swapping has occurred. Data from the experiment will be regularly downlinked for analysis. The payload is developed with HRL and will fly on an Astro Digital Corvus satellite in sun-synchronous orbit.

By attempting entanglement swapping in space, Q4S addresses the challenge of extending quantum networks over distances where terrestrial systems are limited by loss and decoherence, marking a step toward space-enabled quantum communication infrastructure.[2,3]

QUANTUM SENSING & NAVIGATION

SandboxAQ AQNav: GPS Without Satellites

Global interference with satellite navigation continues to escalate, with incidents of GPS jamming, spoofing, and signal loss now disrupting thousands of flights every month and contributing to more than 580,000 reported GPS signal loss events across global aviation in recent years. GPS spoofing alone is known to disrupt navigation for tens of thousands of flights within a single month, highlighting systemic vulnerabilities in GNSS-dependent navigation. [4,5]

SandboxAQ’s AQNav system directly addresses this crisis by leveraging quantum magnetometers to sense Earth’s crustal magnetic field  patterns that are geographically unique and not susceptible to jamming or spoofing and proprietary AI algorithms to match real-time measurements against magnetic maps for position determination.

Developed in partnership with the U.S. Air Force, Acubed (Airbus’ innovation center), and other aerospace stakeholders, AQNav has logged over 150 hours of flight data across diverse terrain and aircraft platforms and has exceeded commercial Required Navigation Performance (RNP) standards in real-world operational tests without relying on GNSS. In these flights, AQNav consistently outperformed standalone inertial navigation systems when GPS was denied, achieving position accuracy as good as ~74 meters in challenging environments and full compliance with RNP 2 thresholds

Unlike GNSS, AQNav is passive, unjammable, and unspoofable, works in day/night and all-weather conditions, and can operate where satellite signals cannot reach including over water, underground, or in contested electromagnetic environments. [6,7]

Wearable Quantum Brain Scanners

Traditional magnetoencephalography (MEG) requires patients to remain motionless inside supercooled, room-sized scanners. New optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) operating at room temperature have revolutionized neural imaging. Companies like Cerca Magnetics, QuSpin, and Mag4Health are commercializing helmets containing quantum magnetic field sensors that can measure brain activity during sleep, movement, and daily activities.

These wearable quantum sensors detect femto-Tesla magnetic fields generated by neurons, enabling researchers to study brain development in children with movement disorders, monitor epilepsy during natural activities, and investigate the connections between brain health, sleep, diet, and aging. The quantum sensor market for neural imaging alone is projected to grow substantially as part of the broader $7.1 billion quantum sensor market forecast by 2044. [8]

NASA’s Space-Based Quantum Gravity Sensor

NASA is preparing to launch the first space-based quantum gravity sensor to map Earth’s hidden shifts in mass distribution. This quantum accelerometer will detect gravitational variations with unprecedented precision, revealing underground water reserves, mineral deposits, tectonic plate movements, and ice sheet changes invisible to conventional instruments. The mission represents quantum sensing’s expansion into Earth observation and climate monitoring. [9,10]

QUANTUM COMPUTING & SIMULATION

GenMat ZENO: AI-Driven Quantum Materials Discovery

GenMat has developed ZENO, a physics software platform that combines quantum computing methods with classical machine learning to accelerate semiconductor and advanced materials research. Built on a state-of-the-art high-performance computing platform, ZENO successfully simulated critical properties of known catalysts during calibration testing and has begun simulating new materials in selected applications. The company is looking forward to offering ZENO’s solutions to enterprise clients for testing advanced materials simulation and synthesis.

Their vertically integrated approach uses quantum sensors to characterize materials while quantum algorithms predict properties, compressing R&D cycles that typically take years into months. With $50 million raised to date, GenMat focuses on optimizing silicon-based semiconductors and developing post-silicon alternatives, with applications extending to photovoltaics, superconductors, and next-generation batteries. Their work exemplifies how quantum technology can industrialize materials discovery.[11,12]

HaiQu: Quantum Operating Systems

As quantum computers scale, they require operating systems to manage resources, schedule workloads, and interface seamlessly with classical infrastructure. While early efforts like HAL—an open-source hardware abstraction layer from a UK consortium including NPL and Riverlane established foundations for portable quantum software, Stanford-founded Haiqu has advanced the field with a quantum operating system that reduces computational costs by 100x through circuit optimization and error shielding.

With $11 million in seed funding and initial success in anomaly detection verified by IBM and Bank of Montreal, Haiqu is now offering an Early Access Program for researchers to beta test the platform across various quantum hardware. By abstracting hardware complexity and enabling multi-user access, Haiqu addresses a core barrier to practical quantum computing: efficient, repeatable use of limited quantum hardware. Such operating systems will be essential as quantum computers transition from experimental research tools to shared, production-grade computing resources. [13,14]

CSIRO Quantum Batteries

Australia’s CSIRO is pioneering quantum battery research that harnesses superposition and entanglement to achieve higher energy density, faster charging, and longer lifespans than classical batteries. Their cavity quantum battery systems use nanometer-thick active layers studied with ultra-fast laser pulses to understand charging dynamics. Recent research published in Science Advances demonstrated “superabsorption” in organic microcavities, a quantum effect that could revolutionize energy storage for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, and even reversible quantum gates in quantum computers.

While still in early research stages, quantum batteries represent a fundamental rethinking of energy storage that could complement or eventually surpass lithium-ion technology. [15]

 

QUANTUM MATERIALS

Quantum Base Q-ID Optical: Unbreakable Product Authentication

Moving beyond cryptography, Quantum Base has commercialized an authentication system that leverages quantum materials’ inherent randomness. Their Q-ID tags contain billions of randomly arranged atoms forming unique quantum fingerprints impossible to clone even with quantum computers. Each tag can be authenticated via standard smartphone cameras, democratizing anti-counterfeiting technology for industries from pharmaceuticals to luxury goods. This physical quantum security complements digital encryption, creating authentication that operates at the atomic level. [17]

Quantum Solutions QDot PbS Ink: Solution-Processed Infrared Sensors

Quantum Solutions has commercialized quantum dot inks that enable low-cost manufacturing of short-wave infrared (SWIR) image sensors through simple spin-coating processes. Traditional SWIR sensors require expensive epitaxial growth on crystallographically-matched substrates. QDot PbS n-type ink eliminates this constraint; it can be deposited on any surface including glass, silicon, or CMOS wafers, with just 5 mL coating an entire 200mm wafer.

Available in fourteen variants with quantum dot sizes from 3.2nm to 11.6nm, the inks detect infrared wavelengths from 1000nm to 2500nm covering applications from night vision and autonomous vehicle sensing to medical diagnostics and industrial inspection. By decoupling semiconductor device performance from substrate requirements, solution-processed quantum dot inks could democratize SWIR imaging technology that currently costs thousands of dollars per sensor. [18]

Kao Corporation: Quantum-Enhanced Solar Cells

In collaboration with the University of Tokyo and Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kao Corporation developed the world’s first intermediate-band solar cells fabricated through a solution process. These cells incorporate quantum dots – semiconductor nanocrystallites dispersed in a bulk matrix that create additional energy bands for absorbing sunlight.

Traditional intermediate-band solar cells could only be made through expensive “dry process” manufacturing. Kao’s breakthrough demonstrated solution-based fabrication in research, with potential for lower costs and higher power conversion efficiency. While still in early research stages, this technology could make next-generation solar panels both more efficient and more affordable, accelerating renewable energy adoption. [16]

Technology / Product

Application Domain

Stage of Development

Q-ORE (QNu Labs)

Quantum-safe drone communication

Commercial Product

Q4S (Boeing)

Space-based quantum networking

Demonstration

AQNav (SandboxAQ)

GNSS-free navigation

Early Deployment

Wearable OPM Brain Scanners

Neural imaging

Early Deployment

NASA Quantum Gravity Sensor

Space based Gravity Sensor

Demonstration

ZENO (GenMat)

Computational materials discovery

Prototype

Quantum Operating System (HaiQu)

Quantum computing systems software

Prototype

Quantum Batteries (CSIRO)

Quantum energy systems (research)

Research

Q-ID Optical (Quantum Base)

Product authentication

Commercial Product

QDot PbS Ink (Quantum Solutions)

Infrared sensing materials

Commercial Product

Quantum-Enhanced Solar Cells (Kao Corp.)

Quantum-enhanced photovoltaics

Research

The Convergence Ahead

What unites these diverse applications is a common thread: quantum technology is solving problems at boundaries where classical physics often fails. 

The quantum technology market is fragmenting into specialized niches, each with distinct timelines and challenges. Quantum sensing for navigation and medical imaging is entering pilot deployment. Quantum computing for chemistry and materials science is demonstrating verifiable advantages. Quantum energy technologies remain in research but show transformative potential.

This diversification is healthy. Rather than waiting for a single “quantum computer” to solve all problems, industry is pragmatically deploying quantum solutions where they provide immediate value. The result is an ecosystem of quantum products that complement rather than replace classical technology, augmenting human capabilities in ways previously confined to science fiction.

The quantum era has arrived not with a single breakthrough, but through a thousand innovations blooming across the technological landscape. From the phones in our pockets to satellites in orbit, from hospitals to underground mineral mapping, quantum technology is quietly revolutionizing how we communicate, navigate, sense, compute, and store energy. The future isn’t quantum or classical, it’s both, working in concert to expand the boundaries of what’s possible.

References

    1. QNu Labs. (n.d.). Q-ORE: Quantum-safe drone communication. https://www.qnulabs.com/glossary/q-ore-quantum-safe-drone-communication
    2. Boeing. (n.d.). Quantum. https://www.boeing.com/space/quantum
    3. Sumit Goswami, Sayandip Dhara, Neil Sinclair, Makan Mohageg, Jasminder S. Sidhu, Sabyasachi Mukhopadhyay, Markus Krutzik, John R. Lowell, Daniel K. L. Oi, Mustafa Gündoğan, Ying-Cheng Chen, Hsiang-Hua Jen, and Christoph Simon, “Satellites promise global-scale quantum networks,” Optica Quantum 3, 590-605 (2025) https://opg.optica.org/opticaq/fulltext.cfm?uri=opticaq-3-6-590#articleBody 
    4. SandboxAQ. (2024, June 25). Magnetic navigation: Revolutionizing defense, commercial and civilian navigation. https://www.sandboxaq.com/post/magnetic-navigation-revolutionizing-defense-commercial-and-civilian-navigation
    5. The growing threat to GPS that policymakers can’t ignore. https://www.sandboxaq.com/post/the-growing-threat-to-gps-that-policymakers-cant-ignore
    6. SandboxAQ. (n.d.). AQNav. https://www.sandboxaq.com/solutions/aqnav
    7. The Quantum Insider. (2025, July 16). SandboxAQ and Acubed achieve progress in magnetic navigation. https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/07/16/sandboxaq-and-acubed-achieve-progress-in-magnetic-navigation/
    8. IDTechEx. (2023, July 19). Wearable quantum sensors measure brain activity while we sleep and move. https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/wearable-quantum-sensors-measure-brain-activity-while-we-sleep-and-move/29834
    9. Choucair, C. (2025, April 16). NASA to launch first space-based quantum gravity sensor to map Earth’s hidden shifts. The Quantum Insider. https://thequantuminsider.com/2025/04/16/nasa-to-launch-first-space-based-quantum-gravity-sensor-to-map-earths-hidden-shifts/
    10. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (n.d.). NASA aims to fly first quantum sensor for gravity measurements. https://science.nasa.gov/directorates/smd/earth-science-division/earth-science-technology-office/nasa-aims-to-fly-first-quantum-sensor-for-gravity-measurements/
    11.  GenMat. (n.d.). About. https://www.genmat.xyz/about
    12. Comstock Inc. (2024, June 18). Quantum Generative Materials achieves breakthrough materials simulation [Press release]. https://comstock.inc/press-release/quantum-generative-materials-achieves-breakthrough-materials-simulation/
    13. Quantum Zeitgeist. (2023, May 4). Haiqu: Optimizing quantum computing with its quantum operating system. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/haiqu-quantum-computing-quantum-os/
    14. Quantum Zeitgeist. (2021, March 23). HAL emerges from a tie-up between NPL and Riverlane building a quantum operating system. https://quantumzeitgeist.com/hal-emerges-from-a-tie-up-between-npl-and-riverlane-building-a-quantum-operating-system/
    15. CSIRO. (n.d.). Quantum batteries. https://research.csiro.au/quantumbattery/research/quantum-batteries/
    16. Kao Corporation. (2019, April 9). Kao and QNu Labs collaborate on quantum-safe data security solutions [Press release]. https://www.kao.com/global/en/newsroom/news/release/2019/20190409-001/
    17. Quantum Base. (n.d.). Q-ID Optical. https://quantumbase.com/q-id-optical/
    18. Quantum Solutions. (n.d.). QDot PbS quantum dot n-type ink. https://quantum-solutions.com/product/qdot-pbs-quantum-dot-n-type-ink/
    19. Cerca Magnetics. (n.d.). Home. https://www.cercamagnetics.com/
    20. QuSpin. (n.d.). QZFM. https://quspin.com/products-qzfm/
    21. MAG4Health. (n.d.). Home. https://www.mag4health.com/