The Winner TEAM:
Quantum Abacus
What’s Next?
Update 10th July 2025:
Progress on the Quantum Abacus Project has continued steadily over the past two months.
KISD students Milan Elsen and Cora Kindermann are now officially employed by the German Aerospace Center’s (DLR) Division for AI Safety, where they are working to translate the Quantum Abacus concept into a fully functional exhibition piece. KISD graduate Julius Walsch supports the project as an external consultant. The team working remotely in Köln/Sankt Augustin will soon be joined by another team member in Ulm to support software development and implementation of quantum algorithms who will closely collaborate with the DLR quantum specialists Andrew Barlow and Cristóbal Corvalán Morbiducci.
As this new project phase kicked off, the team began by validating the core design concept with quantum experts at DLR. This led to two key insights that required expanding the original concept:
- The spheres must rotate freely in all directions, not just along a fixed axis, to more accurately reflect the physics being visualized.
- The exhibit will now simulate and visualize real quantum algorithms, rather than just abstract operations.
These insights prompted a full redesign of the internal components. The team started with a new phase of technical research and prototyping, beginning with a complete rethinking of the system architecture.
The technology is now modular: each module contains a single sphere along with all required mechanical and electronic components. This includes motors, sensors, control systems, supporting structure, etc.
The team is currently focused on the development and refinement of the module prototype. The mechanical components have been completely re-engineered to allow free, omnidirectional rotation of the sphere. Motion and position are tracked entirely through friction rollers, without directly attaching the sphere to motors or sensors, a hard challenge that requires high precision and thoughtful engineering. The current stage involves testing this setup for stability, accuracy, and durability.
Next steps after the validation of the mechanism include:
- Full integration of the sensors into the physical prototype.
- Integration of all the electronic components onto a single circuit board per module
- Development of an Initial software toolkit as well as an interface
- Development of the first algorithms
The goal remains to develop a physically intuitive, mechanically grounded visualisation of quantum computation that opens the door to quantum algorithms to an entirely new audience. We’ll share more as we push toward the next milestones!
⸺Cora & Milan
DLR & External:
Hans-Martin Reiser / DLR Institut für KI-Sicherheit, Execution Environments, and Innovation Methods, Data Scientiest, Physicist, Geographer
Sonja Eikenberg / DLR Institut für KI-Sicherheit in Sankt Augustin & Ulm, Head of Administration
Krzysztof Bieniasz / DLR Quantum Computing Researcher
Prof. Florian Jennett / Professor für Medieninformatik / Digitale Gestaltung Hochschule Mainz
Faculty:
Sven Travis / Parsons School of Design, Design and Technology Program, New York
Michie Pagulayan / Parsons School of Design, Design and Technology Program, New York
Prof. Lasse Scherffig / Professor for Interaction Design, Integrated Design @KISD, Code & Context TH Köln
Prof. Nina Juric / Professor for Image & Motion, Integrated Design @KISD, Code & Context, TH Köln
additionally supported by mood picture voting by
Andrew Barlow, Cristobal Corvalan Morbiducci from Quantum Computing Researchers @DLR and all students
Pictures