Open quantum hardware repo goes public
Open Quantum Design released an open‑source quantum hardware repository, part of the UK’s wider quantum push and signalling early moves toward making quantum tooling accessible for research and hybrid workflows. It’s an early signal that quantum‑adjacent tools may eventually influence advanced risk and optimisation research. (thequantuminsider.com)
Open Quantum Design’s GitHub organisation lists 14 public repositories and the repository named “oqd-blade-trap-assembly” contains STEP files for the vacuum and internal blade‑trap assembly. (github.com (github.com)) The blade‑trap repository is published under the CERN‑OHL‑P‑2.0 hardware licence, and the hardware collection also includes design files described as Optical Circuit Boards (OCBs) that handle optical routing and laser delivery for trapped‑ion control. (github.com (github.com); thequantuminsider.com (thequantuminsider.com)) OQD’s reporting says the OCBs were developed using LightFlow technology from a first OQD spin‑out, with the boards designed to enable modular connections between lasers and ion traps. (thequantuminsider.com (thequantuminsider.com); openquantumdesign.org (openquantumdesign.org)) Xanadu’s PennyLane team has integrated its Catalyst compiler so PennyLane programs can compile, through Catalyst, directly to OQD’s trapped‑ion hardware control signals and formats. (pennylane.ai (pennylane.ai)) Open Quantum Design is a Waterloo‑based non‑profit co‑founded in 2024 by Crystal Senko, Rajibul Islam and Roger Melko alongside CEO Greg Dick, and OQD lists university and industry collaborators across its public materials. (uwaterloo.ca (uwaterloo.ca); openquantumdesign.org (openquantumdesign.org)) Technical documentation for the hardware repositories is hosted on OQD’s documentation site and the public repos are described by OQD and press coverage as providing tested starting points — including board layouts and assembly files — intended for laboratory reproduction and development. (thequantuminsider.com (thequantuminsider.com); openquantumdesign.org (openquantumdesign.org))
