Multiclass classification using variational quantum circuit on benchmark dataset

Abstract

Classification is a major task in data science. Data classification is required in many industries such as healthcare, transport, and finance. Noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) era. Quantum computers are capable of solving complex data challenges and can be used for the classification of the data with minimum features. In this regard, quantum neural networks are being used extensively for data classification. In this paper, we employ variational quantum circuits for the task of multiclass classification. A hybrid approach is used for building the neural network. In which quantum circuits are used for the feedforward architecture, while in back-propagation, parameters are updated using a classical optimizer on classical computers. We have successfully demonstrated multiclass classification using the proposed approach on benchmark data sets. Our results show that variational quantum circuit (VQC) are a promising candidate for classification problems with fewer features. We have performed experiments on International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) quantum hardware and simulators.