EVO-QNN: Efficient Mixed-Precision Quantization Inference on RISC-V-Based Edge Device

Mixed-Precision Quantized Neural Network (MPQNN) helps balance inference precision and efficiency under resource constraints, while most of them lack high-energy-efficiency hardware acceleration solutions. To address these challenges, we propose a SW/HW co-design framework termed EVO-QNN for low-energy and low-latency inference. Specifically, EVO-QNN manages bit-widths of operators and extends SIMD instructions based on customized RISC-V core. Experimental results demonstrate that our framework can achieve performance improvement ranging from 1.23x to 1.58x, with only a 1.02% and 6.61% increasing in area and power consumption for 2–8 bit convolution operators.