Mobile AI Compute Engine (MACE)

Mobile AI Compute Engine (MACE) is a deep learning inference framework optimized for mobile heterogeneous computing platforms. The following figure shows the overall architecture.

Model format

MACE defines a customized model format which is similar to Caffe2. The MACE model can be converted from exported models by TensorFlow and Caffe. A YAML file is used to describe the model deployment details. In the next chapter, there is a detailed guide showing how to create this YAML file.

Model conversion

Currently, we provide model converters for TensorFlow and Caffe. And more frameworks will be supported in the future.

Model loading

The MACE model format contains two parts: the model graph definition and the model parameter tensors. The graph part utilizes Protocol Buffers for serialization. All the model parameter tensors are concatenated together into a continuous byte array, and we call this array tensor data in the following paragraphs. In the model graph, the tensor data offsets and lengths are recorded.

The models can be loaded in 3 ways:

1. Both model graph and tensor data are dynamically loaded externally (by default, from file system, but the users are free to choose their own implementations, for example, with compression or encryption). This approach provides the most flexibility but the weakest model protection.
2. Both model graph and tensor data are converted into C++ code and loaded by executing the compiled code. This approach provides the strongest model protection and simplest deployment.
3. The model graph is converted into C++ code and constructed as the second approach, and the tensor data is loaded externally as the first approach.

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