Towards on-device continual learning with Binary Neural Networks in industrial scenarios

This paper addresses the challenges of deploying deep learning models, specifically Binary Neural Networks (BNNs), on resource-constrained embedded devices within the Internet of Things context. As deep learning continues to gain traction in IoT applications, the need for efficient models that can learn continuously from incremental data streams without requiring extensive computational resources has become more pressing. We propose a solution that integrates Continual Learning with BNNs, utilizing replay memory to prevent catastrophic forgetting. Our method focuses on quantized neural networks, introducing the quantization also for the backpropagation step, significantly reducing memory and computational requirements. Furthermore, we enhance the replay memory mechanism by storing intermediate feature maps (i.e. latent replay) with 1bit precision instead of raw data, enabling efficient memory usage. In addition to well-known benchmarks, we introduce the DL-Hazmat dataset, which consists of over 140k high-resolution grayscale images of 64 hazardous material symbols. Experimental results show a significant improvement in model accuracy and a substantial reduction in memory requirements, demonstrating the effectiveness of our method in enabling deep learning applications on embedded devices in real-world scenarios. Our work expands the application of Continual Learning and BNNs for efficient on-device training, offering a promising solution for IoT and other resource-constrained environments.