Quantum Entanglement Could Revolutionize Secure Communication and Disaster-Response Drones
Why Modern Digital Communication Remains Vulnerable
Whenever information is shared using modern communication tools—whether an email, a text message or a date transfer—it travels across the open internet, where it may be vulnerable to interception. Such exchanges also depend heavily on internet access, often involving wireless signals at one or both ends of the connection.
But what if two, ten, or even a thousand parties could be linked in a way that allows them to communicate without those security risks or connectivity limitations?
Ongoing coverage of emerging communication technologies and digital security trends can be found on FSNews365, which tracks breakthrough shaping the future of global connectivity.
Using Quantum Entanglement to Rethink Information Sharing
That is the challenge Alexander DeRieux, a PhD student at Virginia Tech and Bradley Fellow in the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, set out to address under the supervision of Professor Walid Saad, using quantum entanglement. In simple terms, the team explored the unique properties of quantum bits, or qubits, as a new means of transmitting information.
"When viewed at the subatomic level, atoms do not exist isolation—they are constantly vibrating, and those vibrations influence neighbouring atoms," DeRieux explained. "Entanglement takes advantage of the very fabric of physical space and the intrinsic links that bind atoms together."
Related emerging technology news link
Quantum Entanglement in Disaster Scenarios
Drones, Wildfires and Broken Networks
Building on real-world events, DeRieux's team at the Institute for Advanced Computing in Alexandria explored how quantum entanglement could be applied to drones tackling wildfires or supporting disaster relief operations, particularly in environments where wireless communication is disrupted.
The team's newly developed framework, known as eQMARL (Entangled Quantum Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning)—delivered a clear performance boost by using quantum entanglement, outperforming both classical computing methods and non-entangled quantum approaches. The research has been published on the arXiv preprint server.
Environmental crises, climate-driven disasters and technological responses are closely followed by Earth Day Harsh Reality, which examines how advanced science interacts with real-world planetary challenges.
Why eQMARL Is Different From Classical AI
Learning Through Entangled Qubits
"We first built the technology and the framework, and only then considered where it could be applied," DeRieux said.
"In essence, we have created a learning system that takes advantage of the fact that any action applied to one half of a qubit pair triggers a corresponding change in the other. The exact nature of that change is less important than the fact that it occurs."
DeRieux and his team showcased their work at the grand opening of Academic Building One in Alexandria in February, although he warned at the time that deploying the technology for drone-based disaster response could still be 10 to 15 years away. Since then, advances in both mathematical theory and real-world testing have brought the practical potential of quantum technology into sharper focus.
Potential Impact on Communication, AI and Cybersecurity
"Although the promise of quantum technologies is well recognized, how they might fundamentally transform artificial intelligence (AI) and communication systems remains an open question," Walid Saad said.
"Our research tackles this challenge by harnessing fundamental quantum properties, including entanglement, to develop learning and communication framework that move beyond the limits of classical systems. At the same time, it establishes a principled co-design approach in which quantum and classical technologies function together as a single, integrated system."
Quantum entanglement opens up a wide range of potential applications, particularly by enabling secure communication without dependence on fiber-optic or wireless networks. In a hospital setting, for example, sensitive medical records could be shared without exposure to the cybersecurity risks that accompany transmission over the open internet.
The intersection of advanced computing, data security and human wellbeing is also explored by Human Health Issues, which tracks how emerging technologies affect healthcare systems and patient safety.
While wireless technologies and artificial intelligence continue to advance at pace, classical computing still faces inherent limitations—barriers that quantum approaches are designed to overcome.
"These algorithms may offer faster solutions, but they are not necessarily redefining the way problems are solved," DeRieux explained. "We wanted to investigate what distinct benefits quantum technology can provide —advantages that cannot be replicated using the kind of technology built into a smartphone."
How Quantum Entanglement Works
From Photons to Information Transfer
At its core, communication between two entangled qubits relies on the fact that a change in one is mirrored by a measurable effect in the other.
When drones sense their surroundings — whether through sound or video — that data is encoded onto a qubit. Because a qubit can carry far more information, including amplitudes and phases, simply sharing changes in its state can convey a rich stream of detail.
On the receiving end, this information is unpacked in much the same way as in classical systems, with the process grounded in well-established principles of quantum physics.
To visualize entanglement, imagine photons as tiny spinning spheres. B sending one photon extremely close to another, the two can become entangled, allowing information to be encoded by altering how each 'sphere' spins, effectively locking the pair together.
Once particles are entangled, any change applied to one is mirrored in the other, regardless of the distance between them — from opposite ends of a drone swarm to opposite sides of the galaxy. This phenomenon was even tested earlier this year aboard the International Space Station.
Future Applications and Long-Term Possibilities
As quantum computers continue to shrink from room-sized machines to vehicle-scale systems and ultimately, far more compact designs—the scope of potential applications is expanding rapidly. Whether quantum supremacy arrives next week or a decade from now, the foundations laid by DeRieux and Saad could support advances ranging from federated learning and data security to AI compression, data representativeness, and more energy-efficient artificial intelligence.
Environmental and technology futures link
"we have effectively produced an instruction manual showing that this is genuinely achievable using entanglement — and that it demonstrates something uniquely quantum, which simply cannot be done with classical methods," DeRieux said.
Comments
Post a Comment