Arrays of quantum dots (QDs) are a promising candidate system to realize scalable, coupled qubits systems and serve as a fundamental building block for quantum computers. In such semiconductor quantum systems, devices now have tens of individual electrostatic and dynamical voltages that must be carefully set to localize the system into the single-electron regime and to realize good qubit operational performance. The mapping of requisite QD locations and charges to gate voltages presents a challenging classical control problem. With an increasing number of QD qubits, the relevant parameter space grows sufficiently to make heuristic control unfeasible.In recent years, there has been a considerable effort to automate device control that combines script-based algorithms with machine learning (ML) techniques. In this colloquium, we present a comprehensive overview of the recent progress in the automation of QD device control, with a particular emphasis on silicon- and GaAs-based QDs formed in two-dimensional electron gases. Combining physics-based modeling with modern numerical optimization and ML has proven quite effective in yielding efficient, scalable control. Further integration of theoretical, computational, and experimental efforts with computer science and ML holds tremendous potential in advancing semiconductor and other platforms for quantum computing.
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