Functional simulation of real-time quantum control software

Modern quantum computers rely heavily on real-time control systems for operation. Software for these systems is becoming increasingly more complex due to the demand for more features and more real-time devices to control. Unfortunately, testing real-time control software is often a complex process, and existing simulation software is not usable or practical for software testing. For this purpose, we implemented an interactive simulator that simulates signals at the application programming interface level. We show that our simulation infrastructure simulates kernels 6.9 times faster on average compared to execution on hardware, while the position of the timeline cursor is simulated with an average accuracy of 97.9% when choosing the appropriate configuration.

Automated summary

Modern quantum computers heavily rely on real-time control systems for operation. However, testing real-time control software is often complex, and existing simulation software is not practical for software testing. To address this issue, we developed an interactive simulator that can simulate signals at the application programming interface level. Our simulation infrastructure achieves an average 6.9 times faster simulation speed compared to hardware execution, with an average accuracy of 97.9% in simulating the position of the timeline cursor when the appropriate configuration is chosen.