Durban’s iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium is not only the most impressive new stadium built for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
It will also officially take its place as the world’s first quantum stadium when Durban’s opening World Cup match kicks off, between Germany and Australia, at 8:30 p.m. South Africa time on Sunday June 13 before a capacity international crowd.
“We started an initiative with the university (of KwaZulu-Natal) to firstly create a quantum network for the City of Durban,” says Jacquie Subban. “This (quantum network) happens to be a first for a city in the world. We’ve now translated that to FIFA World Cup 2010.”
Subban is head of Geographic Information and Policy for Durban and the eThekwini (greater Durban) Municipality. Her department heads Durban’s long-term strategic planning initiatives; the city’s short-term (five year) integrative development plans; and a number of research, sustainability, information technology and planning initiatives. Several involve international collaboration.
“With the World Cup, we are going to be the only stadium in the world to have a quantum security link to the Joint Operating Centers — the area we deal with in terms of monitoring security and security threats and so on.”
Subban, in her functional office with a view of Durban harbor, is sharing some of Durban’s innovative initiatives.
Among those I find more easy to comprehend, I learn that this is the only city in South Africa with a permanent vegetable garden at City Hall. Harvested veggies are supplied to a facility for the elderly in the city center.
Vegetable gardens have also been planted at several schools, which makes me think that Mrs. Obama and Alice Waters are in good company with their fresh, local and sustainable focus.
“What quantum security does is provide a much higher level of security on a network compared to your normal cryptology,” Subban tells me, and which sounds impressive.
Quantum cryptography provides hacker-proof super-security. A person who tries to hack into the information, Subban explains, needs to first break the established laws of quantum physics.
“This (World Cup 2010) is the first public global event to use such a quantum based encryption solution,” says Professor Francesco Petruccione of the University of KwaZulu Natal’s (UKZN) Centre for Quantum Technology, a research group comprising mainly academics and post-graduate students, which has led the project in partnership with the city of Durban.
“The project provides a high-level security system along the optical fiber communication link between the stadium and the Joint Operations Centre during the World Cup,” says Petruccione. “To achieve this we use quantum mechanical methods to distribute ultra secure encryption keys.”
The system will make it virtually impossible for hackers to tap into communication between the two points via telephone, e-mail and video links.
See more on Durban's quantum stadium here.
Read about hybrid quantum encryption technology and the secure world cup link here.
Since 2008, Durban has positioned itself to become the Smart City of Africa, explains Subben.
This vision included the development (now well under way) of an optical fibre communication backbone to provide citizens with e-services such as online learning, health advice, internet business solutions, public sector productivity tools and surveillance.
Durban City Manager, Dr. Michael Sutcliffe — who, says Subben, encourages innovation in all departments — believes that quantum information and communication technology will boost the transformation of the Municipality into a high-tech information-driven organization and turn Durban into an incubator for future technologies.
“The whole field of quantum physics and nanotechnology is new and evolving,” says Subben.
“Because a quantum physics industry does not exist at present anywhere in the world, we as a city have an opportunity, given the breakthroughs we’ve made here, to start creating centers of excellence supporting different areas of quantum technology.
“That is very exciting because we can see the birth, in a couple of years time, of new technologies and new industries in an area that was previous not around.
“So we in Durban could be a leader in that process.”
We asked Jacquie Subban a few questions about Durban's quantum city and quantum stadium initiatives:
Get full stadium information of the official Durban 2010 FIFA World Cup Host City website here.
See the World Cup Match Schedule for Durban here.
Read about Durban’s greening and sustainability initiative for 2010 here.
Read about Durban’s new virtual Municipal Institute of Learning (MILE) here.
Visit the University of KwaZulu Natal’s (UKZN) Centre for Quantum Technology online here.
Comments
Interesting story. One doesn't think of South Africa in terms of technological firsts or having the inclination to be green.
South Africa has a history of brilliance, especially in medicine. Let's hope all goes well and this World Cup shows the world its best side.
Quantum security?! What the *#@&%?!(bleap!) ;-)
I didn't realize anyone else was into 'HQET'
Small world!
Good article - thanks
rt
I suppose quantum physics and football patterns have something in common.
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