Quantum Computing for Location Determination

Quantum computing provides a new way for approaching problem solving, enabling efficient solutions for problems that are hard on classical computers. It is based on leveraging how quantum particles behave. With researchers around the world showing quantum supremacy and the availability of cloud-based quantum computers with free accounts for researchers, quantum computing is becoming a reality. In this paper, we explore both the opportunities and challenges that quantum computing has for location determination research. Specifically, we introduce an example for the expected gain of using quantum algorithms by providing an efficient quantum implementation of the well-known RF fingerprinting algorithm and run it on an instance of the IBM Quantum Experience computer. The proposed quantum algorithm has a complexity that is exponentially better than its classical algorithm version, both in space and running time. We further discuss both software and hardware research challenges and opportunities that researchers can build on to explore this exciting new domain.