arXiv:2609.01683cs.CVcs.AR2026-09

让微控制器上的整数模型在不反向传播下自适应环境变化,且能耗极低。

FORGE: Forward-Only Test-Time Adaptation for Integer-Only Vision Models on Microcontrollers

  • 通过重归一化卷积输出恢复适配能力,无需批归一化层
  • 仅需调整3个层即可获得93%的性能提升,精度提升20.9点
  • 可在ESP32-S3上以8.3毫焦能耗实时运行,适合边缘设备

部署在微控制器(MCU)上的视觉模型必须使用纯整数运算,且推理时无法支持反向传播。现有前向-only测试时自适应(TTA)方法要么仅适用于服务器或边缘GPU模型,要么依赖被融合掉的批归一化(BN)层。本文提出一种在已融合BN、纯整数卷积网络上运行的前向-only TTA方法。核心思想是:将BN融合至卷积后破坏了归一化所需的统计信息,因此通过仅用前向估计对每个卷积输出通道重新归一化到训练时的干净统计量来恢复适配能力。该方法(i)在精度上接近基于梯度的TENT(+24.9 vs +20.9点),并达到前向BN适应效果,且唯一能在折叠整数模型上运行;(ii)仅需调整21层中的3层(无需测试数据即选定)即可恢复93%收益;(iii)支持单样本流式输入,采用批量缩放动量;(iv)在三个数据集(最多200类)和两种架构上均表现良好。我们在ESP32-S3上验证了精确的int8卷积执行,结合Nordic PPK2功耗仪测量,前向适应仅消耗8.3毫焦(占推理能耗6.8%)和21.9毫秒,证明其在真实微控制器上轻量高效。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Vision models deployed on microcontrollers (MCUs) are quantized to integer-only arithmetic and run in inference-only runtimes that do not carry the machinery backpropagation needs: the standard tool for adapting a model to the distribution shift (sensor noise, blur, lighting) it meets in the field. Existing forward-only test-time adaptation (TTA) methods either run only on server- or edge-GPU-class models (not true microcontroller integer execution), or require the batch-normalization (BN) layers that integer deployment fuses away. We present a forward-only TTA method that operates on deployed, BN-folded, integer-only convolutional networks. The key observation is that fusing BN into the preceding convolution, a mandatory step for integer inference, destroys the statistics that normalization-based adaptation relies on. We restore adaptation by re-normalizing each folded convolution's per-channel output to its clean training statistics, using only forward-pass estimates. The method (i) recovers most of gradient-based TENT's accuracy gain (+20.9 vs. +24.9 points) and matches forward-only BN adaptation, while being the only method that runs on a folded integer-only model; (ii) needs to adapt only 3 of 21 layers (selected without seeing the test corruptions) to recover 93% of the benefit; (iii) survives single-sample streaming with a batch-size-scaled momentum; and (iv) generalizes across three datasets (up to 200 classes) and two architectures. We validate bit-exact int8 convolution execution and deploy on an ESP32-S3, where, measured with a Nordic PPK2 power profiler, the forward-only adaptation (a lightweight fp32 recalibration around the int8 convolutions) costs only 8.3 mJ (6.8% of inference energy) and 21.9 ms on the deployed SIMD-optimized model: forward-only adaptation is cheap on a real microcontroller.

边缘计算整数推理自适应微控制器

Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。