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STM vs Renesas

In this study, we are interested in comparing the performance of two similar boards from different manufacturers: the NUCLEO-L4R5ZI from STMicroelectronics and the Renesas RX65N.

Hobby Experiment

This study is a hobby experiment and should not be considered as a professional benchmark.

All four types of models were tested on both boards.


Model Type:

Models

FC parameters and MACs FC parameters and MACs
FC parameters and MACs
CNN parameters and MACs CNN parameters and MACs
CNN parameters and MACs
RNN parameters and MACs RNN parameters and MACs
RNN parameters and MACs
TinyMLPerf parameters and MACs TinyMLPerf parameters and MACs
TinyMLPerf parameters and MACs

Error

FC error FC error
FC error
CNN error CNN error
CNN error
RNN error RNN error
RNN error
TinyMLPerf error TinyMLPerf error
TinyMLPerf error

Execution Time

FC execution time FC execution time
FC execution time
CNN execution time CNN execution time
CNN execution time
RNN execution time RNN execution time
RNN execution time
TinyMLPerf execution time TinyMLPerf execution time
TinyMLPerf execution time

Flash Size

FC flash size FC flash size
FC flash size
CNN flash size CNN flash size
CNN flash size
RNN flash size RNN flash size
RNN flash size
TinyMLPerf flash size TinyMLPerf flash size
TinyMLPerf flash size

RAM Usage

FC RAM usage FC RAM usage
FC RAM usage
CNN RAM usage CNN RAM usage
CNN RAM usage
RNN RAM usage RNN RAM usage
RNN RAM usage
TinyMLPerf RAM usage TinyMLPerf RAM usage
TinyMLPerf RAM usage

Summary

  • Model Correctness: The Renesas board fails to run some of the models. Other than that, the two boards provide similar results. (1)

    1. 🙋‍♂️ Except for the int8 only version of TinyMLPerf_MBNet model.

  • Execution Time:

    • The Renesas board did not utilize the CMSIS-NN library, so we should exclude the int8 only versions from the comparison.

    • The Renesas board is just slightly faster than the STM board.

  • Flash Size: STM is a bit better in terms of flash size.

  • RAM Usage: The two boards use almost the same amount of RAM.

  • Conclusion: The two boards seem to have a relatively similar performance. The Renesas board might be slightly faster, but the STM board has a bit smaller flash size. (1)

    1. 🙋‍♂️ These boards have many settings that might favor one over the other in certain cases. Our study was conducted in an almost default settings with a good optimization level, but it is not comprehensive enough to cover all possible scenarios.