ETH Quantum Hackathon 2026 in Zurich
Two challenges, by QuEra and Zurich Instruments: fault-tolerant circuit synthesis and autonomous qubit calibration.
At ETH Zurich, QubiTO tackled the challenges set by QuEra and Zurich Instruments.
For the QuEra challenge, where we secured third place with an honorable mention, we tackled a counterintuitive question: can a 1-qubit logic gate be harder to implement than a 2-qubit one? Diving into fault-tolerant circuit synthesis, we experienced firsthand the enormous hardware cost of non-Clifford gates, addressing one of the major hurdles for large-scale quantum computing.
For the Zurich Instruments challenge, we set ourselves a crucial goal: how quickly and autonomously can a qubit be calibrated? By creating a digital twin of the system, we replaced slow brute-force sweeps with physics-guided spectroscopy and Bayesian estimation algorithms. This approach drastically reduced the required measurements, optimizing QPU machine time and taking a decisive step toward fully automated, human-free operation.
Photos
-
Seven QubiTO members in purple team T-shirts next to the ETH Quantum Hackathon 2026 poster. -
Team members smiling in front of blackboards full of formulas during the presentation at ETH.