One of the great things about tracking the world of sensors is discovering the vast variety of applications and possibilities that sensors provide.
On the one hand, researchers are finding field sensor sensitivity can be improved with quantum neural networks, while on the other hand a practical use of sensors in the field is being deployed by the Mississippi Department of Transportation to detect vandals stealing copper from interstate lights.
MDOT has seen thefts for years and in some cases they have left sections of interstates in darkness. The sensors have made an impact. “I’m happy to report that we haven’t had any in incidents since this notification system went live a few weeks ago,” an MDOT spokesman said. “So we’re hoping it stays that way and hopeful that this will be a preventative way to keep these lights on.”
MDOT did not reveal details of the sensors to avoid alerting criminals. The project to add sensors to lights is expected to be complete in late 2026 or early 2027. Cameras, which include optical sensors, that are triggered by motion are fairly common in wildlife research and could be the basis of the MDOT project.
The world of quantum affects sensor sensitivity
In the other example, you don’t need to understand the intricacies of quantum computing to appreciate that investigators are studying how quantum neural networks can be used to accelerate the so-called spin squeezing technique to improve the sensitivity of field sensors. Cornell University published their work recently in arXiv.org. “Our results demonstrate that the structure of quantum neural networks can be exploited not only for computation, but also to engineer faster and more sensitive squeezing-based quantum sensors,” the researchers said.
NIST explained spin squeezing in 2023, in which a theoretical physicist said, “atoms are the best sensors ever,” largely because they are universal. Spin squeezing involves entanglement of atoms, which is used to reduce noise in measurements: hundreds of entangled atoms working together can reduce noise and clarify measurements.
To explain: In quantum physics, atoms can exist in multiple energy states at once, known as superposition. Spin squeezing reduces all those possible superposition states in an atom to just a few possibilities, like squeezing a balloon and seeing that the middle shrinks while the opposite ends become bigger. When atoms are spin squeezed, the range of possible states narrows in some directions and expands in others. The researchers described spin squeezing as a “powerful resource for metrology,” which is the science of measurement.
A writer in Quantum Zeitgeist described the research this way: “By carefully designing network connectivity and applying tailored quantum operations, scientists demonstrate enhanced squeezing levels and, consequently, faster measurement rates compared to traditional methods. The findings reveal that specific network configurations optimize the balance between squeezing and decoherence, leading to significant improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio for sensing applications.”
Lower noise is good for sensors, and how this research finding helps improve sensors in the field could be years off--on the same multi-year roadmap as practical quantum computing itself.