Democratizing quantum resources: University of Michigan and AWS collaborate on a remote access quantum testbed

The University of Michigan is breaking new ground in quantum technology accessibility through an innovative collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). Led by Dr. Zheshen Zhang, this partnership aims to transform the university’s QREAL (Quantum Receiver Enhanced by Adaptive Learning) platform funded by the National Science Foundation into a cloud-accessible quantum testbed.

“The quantum community faces a significant challenge—all quantum resources are spread out and fragmented,” explained Dr. Zhang. “Research groups developing quantum computer units, quantum interconnects, transduction sensors are scattered globally. Advancing quantum information science and technology requires a unified framework capable of connecting these different functionalities.”

The solution uses AWS serverless technology, including AWS Fargate for container orchestration, AWS Lambda for serverless computing, and Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS) for database management. Through these AWS cloud services, users can remotely send instructions to configure, connect, and route information between different quantum hardware components.

Transforming quantum education

The project addresses two critical challenges in quantum education. First, it helps students grasp counterintuitive quantum concepts through interactive demonstrations using real experimental data. “Unlike traditional disciplines, quantum concepts like superposition and entanglement are highly counterintuitive,” noted Dr. Zhang. “Our demos visualize these concepts using pre-processed data from actual quantum experiments.”

Second, it bridges the gap between theory and practice. Traditional quantum education focuses heavily on theoretical concepts, often disconnected from experimental reality. The testbed’s virtual labs give students hands-on experience with physical quantum systems from anywhere.

Accelerating research through unified access

The testbed addresses a fundamental challenge in quantum research by creating a fabless model for the quantum industry. “Think of the semiconductor industry,” explains Dr. Zhang. “Companies like NVIDIA and AMD don’t run their own foundry facilities—they outsource manufacturing to commercial foundries. We want to develop something similar for the quantum industry.”

This approach enables researchers from diverse backgrounds to advance quantum innovation:

• Computer scientists can access physical quantum hardware instead of relying solely on simulations, as demonstrated by Dr. Jianqing Liu’s team at North Carolina State University using the testbed to study quantum quality of service (QOS) for entanglement routing.
• Quantum physicists can develop new sensing modules by configuring connections between different devices, such as entangled-light sources and AI processing units.
• Engineers can prototype and validate fundamental functionalities before transitioning to larger-scale integration and packaging with industrial partners.

The testbed collects and assembles data in a unified library, which is then disseminated to the broader research community. This collaborative approach helps break down barriers between different disciplines—physics, computer science, electrical engineering, materials science, and chemistry—all crucial for advancing quantum technology.

Future developments

Looking ahead, the project will expand to include new quantum resources, such as squeeze-light sources—technology similar to what’s used in LIGO gravitational wave detectors. The platform will also fully integrate with AWS Braket, a fully managed quantum computing service, providing users access to various quantum technologies from multiple vendors, including circuit simulators and different types of quantum processing units (QPUs).

“We’re not just adding stand-alone quantum modules,” said Dr. Zhang. “We’re standardizing them so each new module can inherently connect with existing ones in the testbed, creating an interoperable and expandable system.”

The collaboration with AWS is strategic for its global reach and robust infrastructure. “AWS cloud offers unparalleled capabilities for worldwide access, data management, and security—essential functionalities for a sustainable testbed facility,” Dr. Zhang emphasized.

As quantum technology continues to evolve rapidly, this partnership creates a foundation for democratizing access to quantum computing, simulation, sensing, and networking resources and accelerating innovation in this crucial field.

Check-out the Remote Access Quantum Testbed.

Figure 1: Photo of the testbed group. From left to right: Kailu Zhou, Leo Li, Visuttha Manthamkarn, and Zheshen Zhang