New project: Quantum Physics for All!

The potential of quantum technologies for industry and society is continually growing. At the same time, the underlying quantum phenomena and concepts are highly abstract and non-intuitive compared to everyday phenomena. The new project Gamified and AI-assisted Learning for Quantum Technologies (GALaQSci) has set itself the goal of making this complex field accessible to all. Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research to the tune of 1.7 million euros, the project is a collaboration between the Faculty of Physics at LMU, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics.

“We want to develop an adaptive-hybrid smartphone game to make the fundamental laws of quantum physics and their technological applications accessible to schoolchildren, college students, and the general public,” explains project coordinator Dr. Stefan Küchemann from the Faculty of Physics at LMU. The game is to cover topics such as the construction of a quantum sensor, data encryption with quantum cryptography, and data processing by a quantum computer.

AI game partner in augmented realities

“What makes GALaQSci special is its innovative use of artificial intelligence,” says Professor Jochen Kuhn, Chair of Physics Education at LMU. The game enables cooperation with a virtual, AI-based character, offering a unique, interactive learning experience. “This novel approach not only reaches a wide audience through a smartphone app, but also offers individualized access for educational institutions and science centers.”

In addition, the game is to be expanded to include an augmented reality (AR) version. In this way, it will reach its target groups both in the platform-independent form of a smartphone app and as an AR version providing a haptic and physical experience with virtually enriched real experiments. “This will give the public playful access, with low entry barriers, to quantum technologies, boosting awareness of quantum phenomena and creating an optimal basis for understanding quantum concepts,” says Küchemann.