Build and run the Arm Machine Learning Evaluation Kit examples
Introduction
Build the ML Evaluation Kit examples
Install Arm Ecosystem FVP
Run the examples on the FVP
Next Steps

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The Arm ML Evaluation Kit (MLEK) provides a number of ready-to-use ML applications. These allow you to investigate the embedded software stack and evaluate performance on the Cortex-M55 and Ethos-U85 processors.

You can use the MLEK source code to build sample applications and run them on the Corstone reference systems , for example the Corstone-320 Fixed Virtual Platform (FVP).

Before you begin

It is recommended to use an Ubuntu Linux host machine. The Ubuntu version should be 20.04 or 22.04. These instructions have been tested on the x86_64 architecture.

Build the example application

Install the dependencies

Run the following commands to install some necessary tools.

    

        
        
sudo apt update
sudo apt install unzip python3-venv python3-pip -y

Install the compiler

The examples can be built with Arm Compiler for Embedded or Arm GNU Toolchain .

Install the GNU toolchain (gcc).

    

        
        
wget https://developer.arm.com/-/media/Files/downloads/gnu/13.3.rel1/binrel/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.3.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz

tar -xf arm-gnu-toolchain-13.3.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-eabi.tar.xz

export PATH=~/arm-gnu-toolchain-13.3.rel1-x86_64-arm-none-eabi/bin/:$PATH
Tip

You can review the installation guides for further details.

Clone the repository

Clone the ML Evaluation Kit repository, and navigate into the new directory:

    

        
        
git clone "https://git.gitlab.arm.com/artificial-intelligence/ethos-u/ml-embedded-evaluation-kit.git"
cd ml-embedded-evaluation-kit
git submodule update --init

Run the build script

The default build is Ethos-U55 and Corstone-300. The default build for Ethos-U85 is Corstone-320. Use the npu-config-name flag to set Ethos-U85.

The default compiler is gcc, but armclang can also be used. Number after ethos-u85-* is the number of MACs, 128-2048 (2^n).

Use --make-jobs to specify make -j value.

You can select either compiler to build applications. You can also try them both and compare the results.

  • Build with Arm GNU Toolchain (gcc):
    

        
        
./build_default.py --npu-config-name ethos-u85-256 --toolchain gnu --make-jobs 8
  • Build with Arm Compiler for Embedded (armclang):
    

        
        
./build_default.py --npu-config-name ethos-u85-256 --toolchain arm --make-jobs 8
Tip

Use ./build_default.py --help for additional information.

The build will take a few minutes.

When the build is complete, you will find the examples (.axf files) in the cmake-build-*/bin directory. The cmake-build directory names are specific to the compiler used and Ethos-U85 configuration. Verify that the files have been created by observing the output of the ls command

    

        
        
ls cmake-build-mps4-sse-320-ethos-u85-256-gnu/bin/

The next step is to install the FVP and run the built example applications.

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