Lite-Agro studies applications of TinyML in pear (Pyrus communis) tree disease identification and explores hardware implementations with an ESP32 microcontroller. The study works with the DiaMOS Pear Dataset to learn through image analysis whether the leaf is healthy or not, and classifies it according to curl, healthy, spot or slug categories. The system is designed as a low cost and light-duty computing detection edge solution that compares models such as InceptionV3, XceptionV3, EfficientNetB0, and MobileNetV2. This work also researches integration with federated learning frameworks and provides an introduction to federated averaging algorithms.

<p>The swift emergence and wide-ranging utilization of machine learning (ML) across various industries, including healthcare, transportation, and robotics, have underscored the escalating need for efficient, scalable, and privacy-preserving solutions. Recognizing this, we present an integrated examination of three novel frameworks, each addressing different aspects of distributed learning and privacy issues: Two Timescale Hybrid Federated Learning (TT-HF), Delay-Aware Federated Learning (DFL), and Differential Privacy Hierarchical Federated Learning (DP-HFL). TT-HF introduces a semi-decentralized architecture that combines device-to-server and device-to-device (D2D) communications. Devices execute multiple stochastic gradient descent iterations on their datasets and sporadically synchronize model parameters via D2D communications. A unique adaptive control algorithm optimizes step size, D2D communication rounds, and global aggregation period to minimize network resource utilization and achieve a sublinear convergence rate. TT-HF outperforms conventional FL approaches in terms of model accuracy, energy consumption, and resilience against outages. DFL focuses on enhancing distributed ML training efficiency by accounting for communication delays between edge and cloud. It also uses multiple stochastic gradient descent iterations and periodically consolidates model parameters via edge servers. The adaptive control algorithm for DFL mitigates energy consumption and edge-to-cloud latency, resulting in faster global model convergence, reduced resource consumption, and robustness against delays. Lastly, DP-HFL is introduced to combat privacy vulnerabilities in FL. Merging the benefits of FL and Hierarchical Differential Privacy (HDP), DP-HFL significantly reduces the need for differential privacy noise while maintaining model performance, exhibiting an optimal privacy-performance trade-off. Theoretical analysis under both convex and nonconvex loss functions confirms DP-HFL’s effectiveness regarding convergence speed, privacy performance trade-off, and potential performance enhancement with appropriate network configuration. In sum, the study thoroughly explores TT-HF, DFL, and DP-HFL, and their unique solutions to distributed learning challenges such as efficiency, latency, and privacy concerns. These advanced FL frameworks have considerable potential to further enable effective, efficient, and secure distributed learning.</p>

<p dir="ltr">Federated Learning (FL), a novel subclass of Artificial Intelligence, decentralizes the learning process by enabling participants to benefit from a comprehensive model trained on a broader dataset without direct sharing of private data. This approach integrates multiple local models into a global model, mitigating the need for large individual datasets. However, the decentralized nature of FL increases its vulnerability to adversarial attacks. These include backdoor attacks, which subtly alter classification in some categories, and byzantine attacks, aimed at degrading the overall model accuracy. Detecting and defending against such attacks is challenging, as adversaries can participate in the system, masquerading as benign contributors. This thesis provides an extensive analysis of the various security attacks, highlighting the distinct elements of each and the inherent vulnerabilities of FL that facilitate these attacks. The focus is primarily on backdoor attacks, which are stealthier and more difficult to detect compared to byzantine attacks. We explore defense strategies effective in identifying malicious participants or mitigating attack impacts on the global model. The primary aim of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness and limitations of existing server-level defenses and to develop innovative defense mechanisms under diverse threat models. This includes scenarios where the server collaborates with clients to thwart attacks, cases where the server remains passive but benign, and situations where no server is present, requiring clients to independently minimize and isolate attacks while enhancing main task performance. Throughout, we ensure that the interventions do not compromise the performance of both global and local models. The research predominantly utilizes 2D and 3D datasets to underscore the practical implications and effectiveness of proposed methodologies.</p>