IoTCO2: Assessing the End-To-End Carbon Footprint of Internet-of-Things-Enabled Deep Learning

To improve privacy and ensure quality-of-service (QoS), deep learning (DL) models are increasingly deployed on Internet of Things (IoT) devices for data processing, significantly increasing the carbon footprint associated with DL on IoT, covering both operational and embodied aspects. Existing operational energy predictors often overlook quantized DL models and emerging neural processing units (NPUs), while embodied carbon footprint modeling tools neglect non-computing hardware components common in IoT devices, creating a gap in accurate carbon footprint modeling tools for IoT-enabled DL. This paper introduces \textit{\carb}, an end-to-end modeling tool for precise carbon footprint estimation in IoT-enabled DL, demonstrating a maximum $\pm21\%$ deviation in carbon footprint values compared to actual measurements across various DL models. Additionally, practical applications of \carb are showcased through multiple user case studies.