Quantum Machine
===============

It is important to understand the QOP concept of a *Quantum Machine*. As shown in the figure below, QOP's control hardware, the Operator-X (OPX), is integrated with your quantum system. The combination of your quantum system and the OPX are referred to as a Quantum Machine.

Our programing language, *`QUA`*, allows programing complex protocols that run in *real-time* on the Quantum Machine. Real-time execution of *`QUA Programs`* is made possible thanks to the QOP's unique compiler and FPGA-based Pulse Processor, hence saving huge amounts of time and resources, improving performance and opening new possibilities in quantum experiments.

The *`QM Orchestrator`* is the system's core software component. The quantum developer communicates with QM Orchestrator using the QM Python package and a light QM desktop app. See the figure below and also here.

.. figure:: quantum_machine1.png

	Conceptual presentation of a quantum machine