Adaptive Video Subsampling For Energy-Efficient Object Detection

Energy-efficient computer vision is vitally important for embedded and mobile platforms where a longer battery life can allow increased deployment in the field. In image sensors, one of the primary causes of energy expenditure is the sampling and digitization process. Smart subsampling of the image-array in a manner that is task-specific, can result in significant savings of energy. We present an adaptive algorithm for video subsampling, which is aimed at enabling accurate object detection, while saving sampling energy. The approach utilizes objectness measures, which we show can be accurately estimated even from sub-sampled frames, and then uses that information to determine the adaptive sampling for the subsequent frame. We show energy savings of 18 - 67% with only a slight degradation in object detection accuracy in experiments. These results motivated us to further explore energy-efficient subsampling using advanced techniques such as, reinforcement learning and Kalman filtering. The experiments using these techniques are underway and provide ample support for adaptive subsampling as a promising avenue for embedded computer vision in the future.