Qiskit Hackathon 2025

Inspiration

All three of us had been interested in quantum computing before coming to IIT Madras. Then we learnt about Qiskit and the opportunities it holds. That is what inspired us to take on this challenge.

What it does

It discusses different quantum key distribution protocols and compares them

How we built it

By referring to the concepts taught to us in the 5 Qiskit sessions and researching through papers available online, and some YouTube videos.

Challenges we ran into

The maximum allowed qubits in the simulator are 29, so the size of the key bits is very small. This doesn't allow us to see the exact plot of the error and the effect of the algorithm as expected in theory. So the plot continuously changes based on the probability of the bases and bits. Additionally, the QBER percentage for the logic/run based on such small sample sizes is not a reliable test of the code/logic's efficiency, as the sample size is insufficient, thus giving us a lot of uncertainty in key metrics. This is especially true in the case of when we were testing and seeing the output for the E91 protocol.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are proud of implementing a quantum circuit on an actual IBM quantum computer, and verifying the results was the most exciting part of the entire event.

What we learned

We learned many new and cool algorithms, including Grover's search, the Theory of quantum bombing, Quantum Key distribution, the effect of noise on quantum results, and many more.