Equivariant Convolutional Networks for Low-Power Edge Deployment

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Solution Overview

Problem

Implementing complex machine learning tasks on low-power devices, such as edge devices, is challenging due to power consumption, computational efficiency, and memory footprint, and the scarcity of labeled data limits the deployment of machine learning models in new domains.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing equivariant convolutional neural networks (G-CNNs) with an equivariance loss term and data quantization techniques to enhance computational efficiency and data efficiency, enabling deployment on low-powered devices.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If complex machine learning models are deployed on low-power devices, then model performance and capability are improved, but power consumption and computational burden increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel performanceVSAvoidpower consumption
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies parameter changes by modifying the training process through equivariance loss functions that enforce symmetry constraints on the model. This changes the optimization landscape and convergence behavior, enabling the model to achieve better performance with fewer parameters and less computational resources, making it suitable for deployment on low-power devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing the training data through symmetry augmentation and incorporating equivariance constraints into the loss function before model deployment. This preliminary enforcement of symmetry principles during training reduces the computational complexity required during inference, allowing efficient deployment on resource-constrained devices.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

2Measurement precision

If larger neural network architectures are used to improve performance, then model accuracy is improved, but memory footprint and computational requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemodel accuracyVSAvoidarchitecture complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the training parameters by incorporating equivariance loss functions that constrain the model to learn symmetry-preserving representations. This parameter modification enables the model to achieve high accuracy with simpler architectures by leveraging the inductive bias provided by symmetry constraints, reducing the need for complex and memory-intensive network designs.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Solution Approach 2:

The patent applies segmentation by decomposing the learning task into components that respect symmetry operations. By training the model to satisfy equivariance constraints for different symmetry transformations separately, the complex learning problem is broken down into more manageable sub-tasks, allowing simpler architectures to achieve comparable or better performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

3Measurement precision

If more labeled data is collected to improve model performance, then training accuracy is improved, but data collection time and cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraining accuracyVSAvoiddata collection time
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary action by pre-processing the training data through symmetry augmentation, where existing labeled data is transformed to generate additional training examples that automatically satisfy equivariance constraints. This preliminary data preparation reduces the amount of raw labeled data needed, as the model learns from augmented samples that encode symmetry relationships, thereby reducing data collection time and cost.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

4Productivity

If equivariance constraints are enforced during training, then data efficiency is improved, but training computational overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvedata efficiencyVSAvoidtraining computational overhead
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSLoss of energy

Solution Approach 1:

The patent changes the loss function parameters by adding equivariance constraint terms with carefully selected weighting coefficients. This parameter adjustment balances the trade-off between enforcing symmetry constraints and maintaining training efficiency, allowing the model to achieve improved data efficiency without excessive computational overhead during the training phase.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

Data Source

PatentUS12412085B2Data and compute efficient equivariant convolutional networks
Publication Date: 2025.09.09 QUALCOMM INC
  • US12412085B2 patent drawing
  • US12412085B2 patent drawing
  • US12412085B2 patent drawing

AI summary

Certain aspects of the present disclosure provide a method of performing machine learning, comprising: generating a neural network model; and training the neural network model for a task with a first set of input data, wherein: the training uses a total loss function total including an equivariance loss component equivarnace according to total=task+αequivarnace, and α>0.