Moving Convolutional Neural Networks to Embedded Systems: the AlexNet and VGG-16 case

Execution of deep learning solutions is mostly restricted to high performing computing platforms, e.g., those endowed with GPUs or FPGAs, due to the high demand on computation and memory such solutions require. Despite the fact that dedicated hardware is nowadays subject of research and effective solutions exist, we envision a future where deep learning solutions-here Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs)-are mostly executed by low-cost off-the shelf embedded platforms already available in the market. This paper moves in this direction and aims at filling the gap between CNNs and embedded systems by introducing a methodology for the design and porting of CNNs to limited in resources embedded systems. In order to achieve this goal we employ approximate computing techniques to reduce the computational load and memory occupation of the deep learning architecture by compromising accuracy with memory and computation. The proposed methodology has been validated on two well-know CNNs, i.e., AlexNet and VGG-16, applied to an image-recognition application and ported to two relevant off-the-shelf embedded platforms.