Quantum autoencoders for image classification

Abstract: Classical machine learning often struggles with complex, high-dimensional data. Quantum machine learning offers a potential solution, promising more efficient processing. The quantum convolutional neural network (QCNN), a hybrid algorithm, fits current noisy intermediate-scale quantum hardware. However, its training depends largely on classical computation. Future gate-based quantum computers may realize full quantum advantages. In contrast to QCNNs, quantum autoencoders (QAEs) leverage classical optimization solely for parameter tuning. Data compression and reconstruction are handled entirely within quantum circuits, enabling purely quantum-based feature extraction. This study introduces a novel image-classification approach using QAEs, achieving classification without requiring additional qubits compared with conventional QAE implementations. The quantum circuit structure significantly impacts classification accuracy. Unlike hybrid methods such as QCNN, QAE-based classification emphasizes quantum computation. Our experiments demonstrate high accuracy in a four-class classification task, evaluating various quantum-gate configurations to understand the impact of different parameterized quantum circuit structures on classification performance. Specifically, noise-free conditions are considered, and simulations are performed using a statevector simulator to model the quantum system with full amplitude precision. Our results reveal that specific ansatz structures achieve superior accuracy. Moreover, the proposed approach achieves performance comparable to that of conventional machine-learning methods while significantly reducing the number of parameters requiring optimization. These findings indicate that QAEs can serve as efficient classification models with fewer parameters and highlight the potential of utilizing quantum circuits for complete end-to-end learning.