Reducing the Power Consumption of Edge Devices Supporting Ambient Intelligence Applications

Abstract

Having as a main objective the exploration of power efficiency of microcontrollers running machine learning models, this manuscript contrasts the performance of two types of state-of-the-art microcontrollers, namely ESP32 with an LX6 core and ESP32-S3 with an LX7 core, focusing on the impact of process acceleration technologies like cache memory and vectoring. The research employs experimental methods, where identical machine learning models are run on both microcontrollers under varying conditions, with particular attention to cache optimization and vector instruction utilization. Results indicate a notable difference in power efficiency between the two microcontrollers, directly linked to their respective process acceleration capabilities. The study concludes that while both microcontrollers show efficacy in running machine learning models, ESP32-S3 with an LX7 core demonstrates superior power efficiency, attributable to its advanced vector instruction set and optimized cache memory usage. These findings provide valuable insights for the design of power-efficient embedded systems supporting machine learning for a variety of applications, including IoT and wearable devices, ambient intelligence, and edge computing and pave the way for future research in optimizing machine learning models for low-power, embedded environments.