When it comes to the field of research and experiments, The Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) never failed to astonish the public with its breakthrough findings.
For the first time ever in the country, the ISRO has demonstrated free-space quantum key distribution for over a distance of 300m. A number of key technologies were developed and this included the use of NAVIC receiver for time synchronization between the transmitter and the receiver modules and also the gimbal mechanism systems instead of the bulky large-aperture telescopes for optical alignment.
The demonstration included live video conferencing using quantum key encrypted signals which can be accounted as the milestone achievement for a secured satellite data communication using the principles of quantum physics.
The Quantum Key Distribution which is a secure communication method implementing a cryptographic protocol in which the components of quantum mechanics are involved underpins the Quantum Communication technology. This ensures high data security when compared to conventional cryptosystems.
The conventional cryptosystems though they are easier to implement, they mostly rely on the complexity of the mathematical algorithms whereas Quantum Communication offers data security based on the laws of Physics. And hence, Quantum Cryptography is considered to be ‘future proof’ as no advancements in computational algorithms can break this cryptosystem.
This free space Quantum Communication experiment was demonstrated at the Space Applications Centre(SAC), Ahemdabad at night between two line-of-sight buildings inside the campus. The experiment was conducted at night so as to ensure that there is no direct interference from the sunlight. The ISRO is now gearing up towards its goal of demonstrating Satellite-Based Quantum Communication (SBQC) wherein the demonstration would be between two Indian ground stations and this experiment has proved to be a major breakthrough to their goal yet to be achieved.
Reference: ISRO
Also, Have a Look at our previous article: Quantum Supremacy
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