Quantum-based wireless sensor networks: A review and open questions

Applications of quantum computing are growing at a very fast pace, for example, from quantum computers to quantum algorithms and even to the development of the quantum Internet. However, the use of quantum technology in wireless sensor networks has not been thoroughly investigated just yet. This is in part due to the complexity of using big, costly, and highly energy-consuming machines that are quantum computers to this date, compared to the nodes used in wireless sensor networks which are small, inexpensive, and operate with very low energy consumption requirements. However, we can expect that in the future (possibly in the next decade) quantum computers will be commercial and reduced in size, and hence, they can be used for sensor network applications which are the basis of the Internet of Things. In this review, we study the road from quantum computing to quantum wireless sensor networks and how the analysis and design of these systems have to change to accommodate quantum capabilities in sensors, processors, communication links, and overall performance of these monitoring networks.