A new generation of application specific quantum computers has shown great promise in solving exponentially hard problems that are inaccessible to classical computers, by employing innovative designs that do not utilize traditional gate-based architectures. The real world problems that can be treated range from issues important to industry, to the most challenging problems in cosmology. This article will explain these novel approaches being investigated at Swinburne University and elsewhere, with experiments and theory planned or underway in Australia, Japan, Europe and the USA.