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The Edge Impulse Linux Python SDK allows you to run Edge Impulse models on Linux devices using Python. You will need to have Python installed on your device and be able to use pip to install the edge_impulse_linux package. Once installed you can follow the normal workflow for creating and Linux EIM file that you can use with the example found with the Linux Python SDK.

Python Inferencing Process

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0. Prerequisites

  • The Linux Python SDK assumes that cameras and microphones are discoverable in the /dev/ directory
  • The device should have internet connectivity to install the needed packages. Internet connection at inference time is not required.
  • Access to the target from the host via SSH to copy a model file in case it’s downloaded through a host computer.
  • Python 3.6 or later installed on the target device.

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1. Install dependencies and Edge Impulse Linux Python SDK on target

Assuming Python is install you will need to install edge_impulse_linux package via pip. Please work through any missing requirements on your system following the pip prompts.

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Debian Based Systems

sudo apt-get install libatlas-base-dev libportaudio0 libportaudio2 libportaudiocpp0 portaudio19-dev
pip3 install edge_impulse_linux -i https://pypi.python.org/simple

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2. Download an Edge Impulse Model as EIM file

Navigate to the deployment page of the project in Edge Impulse platform and select Linux option appropriate for your architecture. Many deployment options are available, so choose an option that is appropriate for your target (e.g., its a Qualcomm SoC with Hexagon NPU, etc). If you intend to running your model on a general purpose CPU without AI acceleration it is generally best to select AARCH64 or x86 as your deployment option.

Linux Deployment Options

Click “Deploy”. You will receive a .zip archive with a .eim executable file. Copy this file over to your target linux device (e.g. to ~/models/my_model.eim)

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3. Test Inference Example

Clone the example repository found via git: 
 git clone https://github.com/edgeimpulse/linux-sdk-python
Download this test-image.jpg to test an inference. Choose the example image classification script: 
 cd linux-sdk-python/examples/image-classification
Run the example: 
 python3 classify-image.py <path-to-your-model.eim> <path-to-input-data>
If everything is set up correctly, you should see inference results printed in the console like shown below: 
# change to the directory where classify-image.py is located and copy in the .eim file and test-image.jpg into the same directory
$ python3.11 classify-image.py cars-in-parking-garage-mac-x86_64-v31.eim test-image.jpg 
MODEL: /Users/name/git/linux-sdk-python/examples/image/cars-in-parking-garage-mac-x86_64-v31.eim
Loaded runner for "ei-ready-device-testing / cars-in-parking-garage"
Found 3 bounding boxes (37 ms.)
        vehicle (0.88): x=2 y=186 w=83 h=50
        vehicle (0.84): x=123 y=151 w=111 h=71
        vehicle (0.82): x=253 y=151 w=67 h=59
A debug image will be saved in the same directory as debug.jpg, showing the detected objects with bounding boxes.