Embedded federated learning over a LoRa mesh network

Abstract

In on-device training of machine learning models on microcontrollers a neural network is trained on the device. A specific approach for collaborative on-device training is federated learning. In this paper, we propose embedded federated learning on microcontroller boards using the communication capacity of a LoRa mesh network. We apply a dual board design: The machine learning application that contains a neural network is trained for a keyword spotting task on the Arduino Portenta H7. For the networking of the federated learning process, the Portenta is connected to a TTGO LORA32 board that operates as a router within a LoRa mesh network. We experiment the federated learning application on the LoRa mesh network and analyze the network, system, and application level performance. The results from our experimentation suggest the feasibility of the proposed system and exemplify an implementation of a distributed application with re-trainable compute nodes, interconnected over LoRa, entirely deployed at the tiny edge.