Ultra-low Loss Quantization Method for Deep Neural Network Compression

Deep neural network (DNN) quantization is an efficient model compression method, in which parameters and intermediate results are expressed by low bit width. The bit width of data will directly affect the memory footprint, computing power and energy consumption. Previous researches on model quantization lack effective quantitative analysis, which leads to unpredictable quantization loss of these methods. This study proposes an ultra-low loss quantization (μL2Q) method for DNN compression, which reveals the internal relationship between quantization bit width and quantization loss, effectively guiding the selection of quantization bit width and reducing quantization loss. First, the original data is mapped to the data with standard normal distribution and then the optimal parameter configuration is sought to reduce the quantization loss under the target bit width. Finally, μL2Q has been encapsulated and integrated into two popular deep learning training frameworks, including Caffe and Keras, to support the design and training of end-to-end model compression. The experimental results show that compared with the state-of-the-art three clusters of quantization solutions, μL2Q can still guarantee the accuracy and deliver 1.94%, 3.73%, and 8.24% of accuracy improvements under the typical neural networks with the same quantization bit width, respectively. In addition, it is also verified that μL2Q can be competent for more complex computer vision tasks through salient object detection experiments. © Copyright 2021, Institute of Software, the Chinese Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.