DeepMaker : Customizing the Architecture of Convolutional Neural Networks for Resource-Constrained Platforms

Abstract: Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) suffer from energy-hungry implementation due to requiring huge amounts of computations and significant memory consumption. This problem will be more highlighted by the proliferation of CNNs on resource-constrained platforms in, e.g., embedded systems. In this thesis, we focus on decreasing the computational cost of CNNs in order to be appropriate for resource-constrained platforms. The thesis work proposes two distinct methods to tackle the challenges: optimizing CNN architecture while considering network accuracy and network complexity, and proposing an optimized ternary neural network to compensate the accuracy loss of network quantization methods. We evaluated the impact of our solutions on Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) platforms where the results show considerable improvement in network accuracy and energy efficiency.