Towards the Cutest Neural Network

Towards the cutest neural network Published: 2025 April 28 I recently needed to use a microcontroller to estimate the pose (translation and orientation) of an object using readings from six different sensors. Since the readings were non-linear and coupled with each other, an explicit analytical solution was out of the question. I figured I’d have a go at using a simple neural network to approximate it: generate training data (on my computer) using a forward simulation (pose to sensor readings) train a lil’ neural network (a few dense layers, 100’s of parameters, tops) to approximate the inverse mapping function (sensor readings to pose) deploy this network on my microcontroller (Cortex-M0, 16 kB RAM, 32 kB flash) to actually do the inference Since neural networks have been around since the 1980’s, I figured it’d be straightforward. A quick background search uncovered lots of promising leads too, especially regarding “quantization”, which I wanted to do as my microcontroller doesn’ ... Read full article.