Knights of the DeteQt Republic
What greater weapon is there than to turn a sensor to your cause?
A short time ago in a galaxy you’re quite familiar with, Australia-based DeteQt developed an elegant sensor for a more civilized age.
This is that story.
Act I: Development
In the first act of Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope, Obi-Wan Kenobi tells Luke Skywalker that "for over a thousand generations, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic." We don’t learn immediately, however, that the Jedi and the Sith slowly evolved their lightsabers over these millenia. Force-imbued blades and proto-sabers were crude weapons, later replaced with self-contained lightsabers powered by kyber crystals and miniaturized power cells. The Sith would go on to modify and corrupt the technology, as well as to introduce some new designs.
To its great credit, DeteQt didn’t need thousands of years, but it nonetheless needed time to develop its technology. In fact, it needed since 2020. This technology, remarkable in its own right, is based on atoms trapped in diamond. The lasers remain, but the crystal—with its ensemble of NV centers—is bonded face-to-face with a CMOS silicon chip, where it finds most of the other peripherals. These ultra-high-sensitivity, highly stable, compact, and cost-effective quantum magnetometers detect weak magnetic fields with greater accuracy than conventional sensors. This design effectively places atoms (qubits) on a “superhighway of semiconductor technology” that is compatible with other semiconductor technologies.
Act II: Early Uses
Lightsabers were initially used as you would expect “laser swords” to be used: in elegant melee combat. In fact, the Jedi developed and refined multiple combat “forms,” each with their respective strengths and weaknesses. Like in fencing, there are attacks and parries, introductory at first and advancing through training.
DeteQt is able to make arrays of mm² sensors, so it’s ready to jump right into the Battle of Geonosis (that’s the one in Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones with a couple hundred Jedi in an arena). For quantum magnetometers, that means known applications such as navigation in GPS-denied environments and mineral exploration. Whereas attacking and parrying are the obvious first uses of a “laser sword,” navigation, medical imaging, and mining are the obvious first uses of a magnetometer.
“Here’s where the fun begins.”
- Han Solo
Act III: Later Uses
Over the millenia, the Jedi discovered uses of lightsabers that couldn’t have been imagined at the beginning. They have been used to cauterize wounds, blowtorch through doors, deflect blaster fire, illuminate the dark, and more. They’ve even been used as blunt force weapons and thrown weapons—not a huge stretch of the imagination, yet exceedingly rare to see in fencing tournaments.
DeteQt hasn’t had 25,000 years to develop its sensors, so this is where the analogy gets interesting. What are the killer apps for quantum magnetometers, especially when they can be inexpensively deployed in large numbers? We know what the obvious applications are, like attack and parry with a sword, but what can we do that we haven’t imagined yet? We are the Je’daii—the early practitioners who will eventually evolve into the Jedi Order—and we haven’t mastered this technology yet.
Spoiler alert: watch out for that “Chosen One” prophecy.
Conclusion
As DeteQt puts it, most in quantum are building for today. Yes, we know that there is a market for quantum magnetometers. DeteQt, however, is being visionary and thinking about the future. It is trying to figure out what you’re trying to solve and how its technology can solve it. Although the company isn’t promising to bring peace and justice to the galaxy, it is hoping to bring quantum advantage down to Earth.
May the Force be with you.
Image generated by an AI model provided by Microsoft Copilot.