University of Maryland College Park, United States
While quantum computing garners the most attention, quantum sensors are arguably the most advanced quantum hardware platform, with applications spanning medicine, aerospace, and environmental and energy monitoring, to name a few. These quantum sensors, such as scanning quantum interference devices (SQUIDs), atomic clocks, and optically pumped magnetometers, were commercialized in the latter part of the 20th century and are now used in specialized research and commercial settings. In the 21st century, through the advancement of the field of quantum information science, quantum sensors are driving the state of the art, with much hope and promise as to what they can do. This paper identifies examples of quantum sensor users and developers in two applications: medicine (specifically neuroscience) and geophysical surveying. Through primary data from interviews and secondary data from academic papers and practitioners' articles, we aimed to understand how users currently work with quantum sensors and how they envision using them. we applied the popular business theory of “organizing vision” to analyze how the users are advancing the innovation of quantum sensing.
