The synthesis of a quantum computer remains an ongoing challenge in modern physics. Whereas decoherence stymies most approaches, topological quantum computation schemes evade decoherence at the hardware level by storing quantum information non-locally. Here we establish that a key operation—braiding of non-Abelian anyons—can be implemented using one-dimensional semiconducting wires. Such wires can be driven into a topological phase supporting long-sought particles known as Majorana fermions that can encode topological qubits. We show that in wire networks, Majorana fermions can be meaningfully braided by simply adjusting gate voltages, and that they exhibit non-Abelian statistics like vortices in a p+ip superconductor. We propose experimental set-ups that enable probing of the Majorana fusion rules and the efficient exchange of arbitrary numbers of Majorana fermions. This work should open a new direction in topological quantum computation that benefits from physical transparency and experimental feasibility.
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