Kvantify x Frogne Route Optimization

Frogne, founded in 1973, is one of Europe’s leading developers of traffic management systems and specialized solutions within geographic information systems (GIS) and transportation for people with disabilities.

The Challenges Faced by Frogne

As Frogne grew, it encountered more and more diverse problems, some of which were difficult to handle due to the complexity and scale of the computational data that needed to be processed. They did not lack computing power; rather, the problems were simply not solvable using their current methods.

Another challenge for Frogne was staying ahead of its competitors by becoming quantum-ready. As many know, a quantum computer can be used to solve particularly difficult problems. Route planning is one of those problems that scales exponentially with more cars, children, and other constraints. Frogne wanted to be prepared for the advent of quantum hardware.

In summary, the challenges Frogne faced were:

1. The need to upscale their route planning to handle larger computational challenges with larger vehicles.‍
2. The ability to compute these larger routes every morning.
3. Ensuring the software was easy to integrate without compromising existing software and work processes.‍
4. A lack of know-how regarding the upcoming quantum software revolution in route planning.

Our Solutions for Frogne

Kvantify operates in a solution-oriented manner. This means we regularly conduct workshops with our customers, continuously presenting results. If the results confirm that the latest progress solves a part of their actual problems, we know we are on the right track. This way, our solutions are tailored to fit the customer, rather than the customer having to fit the solution.

‍This was precisely the approach we took in collaboration with Frogne, when designing the classical as well as the quantum computational solutions.

‍The process provided Frogne with the following solutions:

1. Our code was successfully tested and validated against a customer-specified commercial reference solver.
2. The code was delivered as a Service Development Kit, making it easy to implement into existing company software. Kvantify assisted throughout this process, enabling Frogne to adjust the software themselves if needed.
3. A series of workshops were conducted, giving Frogne a clear understanding of the possibilities of quantum software and quantum computing in general.
4. A quantum-ready algorithm was developed specifically for Frogne based on Kvantifys patented quantum algorithm, Fast VQE.

Overall, our solution was custom-made to fit the software into the working routines – not the other way around.

The Results Frogne Achieved

When we finished the project, the results Frogne achieved from our solutions were:

1. The software can now calculate and plan up to 1,000 times more daily routes.
2. The maximum number of passengers per vehicle is no longer an issue.
3. Calculation time has been reduced from minutes to a few milliseconds.
4. A VQE-based quantum route planning tool was implemented and tested, and its future potential was reported.

“I didn’t get what I expected – I got what I needed – and more. This was due to two things: the way Kvantify and Frogne collaborated through solution-oriented workshop sessions, and, of course, the fact that Kvantify has an incredibly skilled team.” (Kaare Frogne, CEO of Frogne)