What is Edge AI?
Edge AI — Running AI algorithms locally on a hardware device rather than relying on a centralized cloud infrastructure.
Edge AI runs AI models directly on local devices — phones, cameras, sensors — rather than sending data to the cloud. This eliminates network latency, reduces bandwidth costs, and keeps sensitive data on-premise. It is essential for real-time applications in manufacturing, autonomous vehicles, and IoT.
Frequently Asked Questions
What devices can run Edge AI?
Smartphones, NVIDIA Jetson boards, Intel Neural Compute Sticks, Raspberry Pi with accelerators, industrial cameras, and specialized IoT sensors with built-in AI chips.
How is edge AI different from cloud AI?
Cloud AI sends data to remote servers for processing. Edge AI processes data locally on the device. Edge offers lower latency and better privacy; cloud offers more compute power.
What models work at the edge?
Small, quantized models optimized for limited hardware. TinyML models, MobileNet, and quantized versions of larger models (under 4GB) are common edge deployments.