A Practical Multiprotocol Collaborative Quantum Key Distribution Networking Scheme for Consumer Electronics Devices

The development of emerging consumer technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing brings convenience but also raises critical concerns about securing communication data. Quantum computing threatens the security of classical public key cryptography, making post-quantum data protection essential. Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) networks offer a solution, but the dependence on trusted relays raises security concerns. The existing QKD networks mainly consist of two types: measurement-device-dependent protocol based QKD networks which have a high dependence on trusted relays, and measurement-device-independent protocol based QKD networks which have a weak dependence on trusted relays but communication capability is limited. This paper proposes a Multi-Protocol Collaborative (MPC) networking cell combining both types of QKD protocol, which can reduce the dependence on trusted relays while maintaining a high communication capacity, and consequently has an enhanced practicality. An optimal topology method is also designed to further enhance the performance of the networks. Results show that communication capacity is improved 37 times compared to measurement-device-independent protocol based QKD networks. In addition, 23% reduction in the dependence on trusted relays compared to measurement-device-dependent protocol based QKD networks. By overcoming the trade-off between trust and capacity, this work significantly advances the practicalization of QKD networks in consumer electronics.