Megayachts in the metaverse

thousand years and your conventional computer still couldn’t do what a quantum computer will do,” enthuses Hensinger, who, worryingly for laypeople, calls it all “mind-boggling”.

The upshot could be profound, for example, in the rapid development of new materials or of new drugs; in machine learning and AI; or, as Hensinger has demonstrated in a recent paper, in advancing high nitrogen fertilizer production, which could, in turn, radically improve global food supply. It’s a small wonder then that the world outside of quantum physics – chemical and pharmaceutical industries, banking and investing, security and intelligence – are quickly waking up to this potential. This year IonQ became the first dedicated quantum computer developer to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange; it quickly gained a market capitalization of $3 billion.

“I’m not sure how much of the public understands the exoticism behind any approach to quantum computing, or whether it really needs to, I mean, how many of us know how our cellphones work?” asks Christopher Monroe, atomic physicist and IonQ’s co-founder. “But the listing does make a statement that there’s an appetite for investing in quantum computing now, that there’s an expectation that it will produce value.”

“It’s been a victory story for universities being allowed to do fundamental research, in the same way that understanding nuclear physics was purely academic before applications were found,” explains Wim van Dam, professor of computer science at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and one of the pioneer thinkers 25 years ago in the then decidedly esoteric field of quantum computing. “Attitudes are changing. It’s rather like people talking of building a big bridge - you can hear it described, or see some drawings, but it only really becomes understandable when you see an architect’s model. For people outside of the field of quantum mechanics it was all ‘blah blah equations blah blah’. Now it’s starting to feel real.”

That said, we’re still at the dawn of this quantum age. Hensinger compares it to being back in the 1940s with conventional computers – long established in theory, but only then finding the first practical applications, notably in the breaking of the German Enigma code. “And much as then, people had no idea that computers might become what they are today, it would be a mistake to assume we will know what quantum computing will be capable of for decades,” he stresses.

Of course, there remain major challenges: there’s what’s called ‘noise’, those environmental factors like vibrations and electromagnetic waves, that a quantum computers’ delicate state doesn’t like at all. And, as Hensinger notes, “you can’t just run Windows on a quantum computer.” Finessing the software’s bespoke algorithms is, for instance, as big a challenge as developing the hardware.

And yet, recent years have seen massive leaps forward in bringing practicable quantum computers to life, with the development work of a handful of leaders in the field, each tackling the various operational hurdles that need to be overcome for quantum computing to necessarily scale up.

Hensinger’s Ion Quantum Technology Group, for example, has devised a way of holding those qubits stably in place not by use of lasers – the ‘standard’ if less mature approach today – but with microwaves. His company, which also has a means of realizing a fully modular quantum computer in the pipeline, now has serious venture capital funding.

Likewise, Rigetti, a start-up in Berkeley, has worked out how to forcibly reset qubits for re-use some 30 times faster, thus removing valuable latency from the system, while IonQ has shown a path away from using what are, essentially, pimped-up solid state platforms for quantum computing (with all of the variations that can upset quantum processes) towards what is known as a ‘trapped ion’ system; it uses individual, perfectly replicable fundamental particles assembled by nature. If most quantum computing hardware requires massively expensive super-cooling to almost absolute zero, IonQ’s can be operated at room temperature.

“But what’s important is that really none of the hurdles are problems in physics, so much as problems in engineering, albeit serious ones,” says Monroe. “And [in the end] the different approaches to quantum computing will probably coalesce, as happened in the development of conventional computers.”

When that occurs, who knows what quantum leaps might follow?

“Whenever we get something fundamentally new in processing information – the printing press, connecting computers online, etc. – it’s always revolutionary,” says Van Dam, who predicts a major breakthrough within five years. “And given how ubiquitous processing information is now, if quantum computing can fundamentally change that, the consequences will be considerable. We just don’t know what those consequences will be yet. It’s going to take a while, but they’re going to be big.”

“I’m not sure how much of the public understands the exoticism behind quantum computing, or whether it really needs to.”

Does anyone really know the value of an NFT? Or what the metaverse or crypto really is? Read on to learn how Cloud Yachts is revolutionizing the new digital revolution.

Words Bill Springer

For many of us, it’s hard to even begin to understand the dizzying array of digital technology that’s shifting fundamental ideas about art, property, design, investing and even money itself. However, it’s impossible to ignore the impact that Bitcoin is having on global financial markets, or the fact that Sotheby’s recently sold a collection of Bored Ape NFTs (actual digital cartoon images of bored apes) for over $24 million. And since Bored Ape owners are also granted access to the hyper-exclusive Bored Ape Yacht Club (only 10,000 Apes exist on the Ethereum blockchain), you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s only a matter of time before a superyacht NFT Yacht Club is minted for the metaverse.

For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, an NFT (non-fungible token) is an image that contains unique digital identifiers that can’t be copied, substituted or subdivided. Each NFT is recorded on a blockchain that is used to certify the authenticity and ownership of a specific digital asset. So, the idea is, a superyacht in the metaverse can be as unique and verifiable as Jeff Bezos’s outrageously large, new-build yacht.

Thankfully, the limited-edition superyacht NFTs that Cloud Yachts released at the 2022 Miami International Boat Show are far superior than simple cartoon images. The project successfully attracted world-renowned yacht design firms, such as Bannenberg & Rowell, Gregory C. Marshall, David Weiss and Marco Casali, all of whom released real yacht NFTs that might end up being a lot more valuable to own than other headline-grabbing NFTs with their jaw dropping prices.

In fact, Cloud Yachts’ NFTs could end up changing the way yachts are designed, as well as bought and sold. This is because in addition to the unique superyacht NFTs that were dropped at Miami Yacht Show, a 206-foot-long new-build project designed by Gregory C. Marshall is also available for purchase as an NFT.

This first-of-its-kind project will allow a client to work with the award-winning designer to customize their superyacht in the metaverse using augmented reality technology. The project is currently priced at $95 million or 30,148 ETH (at the time of going to print), but who knows what the final price will be?

“Our team is honored to represent some of the world’s best and emerging superyacht designers,” says Zach Mandelstein, founder of Cloud Yachts. “We’re aware of the short-term NFT craze so we’ve set our sights on the longterm utility that this blockchain technology offers. Whether it’s by facilitating transactions, revolutionizing the new-build experience or something we haven’t yet imagined, we’re enthusiastic to participate in this virtual economy.”