The scientific research of reliability: from classical to quantum

As a measure of a system's ability to function stably, reliability is very important for engineering and technology. In recent years, with the interconnection of physics, information theory and statistics, the research of reliability is gradually developing into a new science. Meanwhile, with the development of quantum technology, quantum devices based on coherence will be greatly embedded in traditional equipment and systems. This not only brings both challenges and opportunities for the research of reliability methodology, but also links reliability engineering with quantum physics and stimulates innovation in the interdisciplinary fields. The first part of this article describes the crossover from reliability engineering to science. In the second part, the basic concepts and logic of quantum reliability are interpreted from a reliability engineering perspective, emphasizing that the consistent quantum theory is a natural language for the statistics of the lifetime of quantum devices. Finally, in conjunction with the primary challenge confronting current cutting-edge quantum technologies, i. e. decoherence, we look forward to the potential applications of reliability engineering in quantum technology.