"Low-Power CNN Acceleration on PYNQ FPGA Using Linear Approximations and HLS-Based IP Core Design"

Abstract Basically, CNNs have changed image recognition completely, but they need too much computing power for the same convolution work, so they cannot run properly on small embedded systems. Current CPU and GPU systems actually face delays and use too much power, definitely creating a gap for real-time, low-power solutions in edge applications. This research further investigates how CNNs with linearly approximated activation functions and approximate multipliers can be implemented on modern FPGAs itself. The study aims to fill the existing gap in this area. As per the High-Level Synthesis (HLS) method, a configurable IP core with high-throughput was created and deployed on Zynq-based PYNQ FPGA. The implementation regarding this IP core shows good performance results. Moreover, the proposed design reduces arithmetic complexity further while maintaining inference accuracy itself. This allows efficient CNN execution with minimal resource usage. Tests on the MNIST dataset show 52× faster speed than ARM processing on the same board itself. The system uses ~1.54W power, which is suitable for embedded applications and can be further optimized. Basically, these results are significant for mobile FPGA-SoC platforms like Xilinx Ultra96 and PYNQ-Z1, which are used in autonomous drones, ADAS systems, and the same industrial IoT devices. This study surely connects efficient algorithms with hardware limitations to provide a scalable solution that uses less power. Moreover, it helps deploy deep-learning models in real-time embedded systems effectively Keywords: Convolutional Neural Network, FPGA acceleration, PYNQ-Z1, High-Level Synthesis, approximate computing, linear activation functions, embedded systems, low power consumption, real-time inference, hardware-software co-design.