Qubits inspired by 'Schrödinger's cat' thought experiment could usher in powerful quantum computers by 2030

3d render of a quantum processor chip containing quantum bits or qubits. The chip is illustrated in its location at the bottom underside of a quantum computer cooling chandelier.

A fault-tolerant quantum computer could be here by 2030, thanks to an invention called the "cat qubit," named after the famous Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, in which a cat locked in a box with a radioactive pellet exists in a superposition of "dead" and "alive" states until the box is opened .

Researchers from the Paris-based quantum technology company Alice & Bob unveiled the roadmap in a white paper published earlier this month.