Do you think quantum computers will ever fit in a form factor smaller than a room, and on what timeline

[Marcus82]

Current systems need massive dilution refrigerators or elaborate laser and vacuum setups depending on the qubit type, and I want honest predictions on whether that changes in our lifetime rather than marketing timelines

[KevinOwens]

Photonic and some solid state approaches don't need cryogenic cooling at all, those platforms are already smaller than superconducting systems, the room sized machine is a superconducting qubit problem specifically, not a universal quantum computing problem

[Daz]

Depends entirely on error correction overhead, a useful fault tolerant machine needs so many physical qubits per logical qubit that even a compact qubit technology still needs a large supporting system

[TomTiz]

Trapped ion systems have gotten smaller over the last decade through better laser integration, a benchtop scale universal quantum computer for narrow applications feels achievable within fifteen to twenty years

[Stargazer86]

I'd bet against a pocket sized universal quantum computer within any of our lifetimes, the control electronics and error correction infrastructure scale with qubit count regardless of the qubit technology itself

[NightOwl]

Room temperature quantum sensing devices already exist and keep shrinking fast, if the question is sensing rather than general computation the timeline is much shorter, maybe a decade

[Danny_21]

The HRL demonstration of cryogenic control electronics living inside the same cold environment as the qubits is the actual path to smaller systems, moving control off the cold stage and outside a room sized rack is the real bottleneck being solved right now

[StringTheory55]

Specialized single purpose quantum devices for things like secure communication will miniaturize faster than general purpose quantum computers, narrow problems need less hardware