Edge Accelerator for Lifelong Deep Learning using Streaming Linear Discriminant Analysis

Abstract

Lifelong deep learning models are expected to continuously adapt and acquire new knowledge in dynamic environments. This capability is essential for numerous vision tasks in robotics and drones, and the models must be deployed on the edge to achieve real-time performance. We propose a FPGA accelerator of a streaming classifier for lifelong deep learning, which is based on streaming linear discriminant analysis (SLDA). When combined with a frozen Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model, the proposed system is capable of class incremental lifelong learning for object classification.