Convolutional Neural Network Compression Based on Low-Rank Decomposition

Abstract: Deep neural networks typically impose significant computational loads and memory consumption. Moreover, the large parameters pose constraints on deploying the model on edge devices such as embedded systems. Tensor decomposition offers a clear advantage in compressing large-scale weight tensors. Nevertheless, direct utilization of low-rank decomposition typically leads to significant accuracy loss. This paper proposes a model compression method that integrates Variational Bayesian Matrix Factorization (VBMF) with orthogonal regularization. Initially, the model undergoes over-parameterization and training, with orthogonal regularization applied to enhance its likelihood of achieving the accuracy of the original model. Secondly, VBMF is employed to estimate the rank of the weight tensor at each layer. Our framework is sufficiently general to apply to other convolutional neural networks and easily adaptable to incorporate other tensor decomposition methods. Experimental results show that for both high and low compression ratios, our compression model exhibits advanced performance.