The random number generator that powers research simulations, gaming, and inspiring works by artists and children’s names will go global.
The ANU Quantum Numbers (AQN) from the Australian National University (ANU) is the world’s most popular and powerful online random number generator. It uses quantum technology to generate real random numbers at high speed and in real-time by measuring the quantum fluctuations of the vacuum.
Starting today, AQN is available on AWS Marketplace, an online software store that helps customers find, purchase, and use software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company.
Dr. Syed Assad, one of the ANU researchers behind AQN, said a series of critical applications rely on random numbers.
“Random numbers are needed in IT, data science, and modeling. Without random numbers, there are no reliable models for predictions and research simulations,” said Dr. Assad.
“But artists also use them to remove human bias from their creative work. True random numbers are also an indispensable resource in computer games and smart contracts. We even got a request from a father to generate random numbers that he then used as inspiration for his daughter’s name!”
AQN has been operating out of a lab on the ANU campus for ten years and has received more than two billion random number requests from 70 countries. Taking advantage of the significant growth in demand for random numbers, ANU launched the service on AWS Marketplace to scale AQN and deliver the service faster and more reliably to more than 310,000 active AWS customers.
AQN has created numbers to assign participants to randomized clinical trials, simulate processes and events in computer games, generate secure passwords, simulate virus outbreak behavior, and forecast the weather.
AQN team leader Professor Ping Koy Lam said that AQN distinguished itself using quantum-level lasers.
“Quantum physics offers practically an infinite source of truly random numbers. These quantum random numbers are guaranteed by the laws of physics to be unpredictable and unbiased,” said Professor Lam.
“This technology is based on the detection of vacuum. A vacuum is not an area of space that is empty and devoid of energy. It still contains noise at the quantum level.
“Through AWS Marketplace, ANU provides an incredibly powerful source of randomness that is easily accessible to customers around the world.”
ANU Vice-Chancellor Professor Brian Schmidt said: “It’s great to see fundamental science and research translated directly into new technologies and products that people and businesses worldwide can use.
“The random number generator is a pioneer and one of the best examples of how our researchers bring their incredible know-how and expertise to the world.
“By hosting this service on AWS, even more people have the ANU random number generator at their fingertips.”
Iain Rouse, AWS Managing Director for the Global Public Sector in Australia and New Zealand, said: “We are committed to helping customers like ANU solve challenging problems by leveraging the cloud with breakthrough innovation such as ANU Quantum Numbers.
“Unbiased and true random numbers are fundamental in many of today’s applications. By making AQN available on AWS Marketplace, hundreds of thousands of customers worldwide can now leverage AQN’s industry-leading capabilities without knowledge of quantum physics.”
Editorial
The TBN team is an established group of technology industry professionals with backgrounds in IT systems, business communications, and journalism.