Quick dirty guide on how to get the Nexus Q unlocked and ready for hacking.
First download and install the SDK and tools if you don’t have it already
Pair the nexus q to a device so you can enable USB debugging.
Open the Nexus Q app, goto your Q and select advanced, then turn on usb debugging.
Plug the Q in via USB, then type adb reboot bootloader
Once the ring turns red, type fastboot oem unlock, this will factory reset the Q,
Once it has reconnected, repair it to a device, enable usb debugging again, and type adb reboot-bootloader.
Once the device has turned red, you need to boot the unsecured boot image, download it then type fastboot boot
After following these steps your Q should now be rooted.
Edit: I noticed that SU 3.1 doesn’t acutally work for some reason, neither does 3.0.3.1 from CM9, however 3.2 RC2 worked fine, not sure why.