Design and Implementation of an LSTM Model with Embeddings on MCUs for Prediction of Meteorological Variables

The use of recurrent neural networks has proven effective in time series prediction tasks such as weather. However, their use in resource-limited systems such as MCUs presents difficulties in terms of both size and stability with longer prediction windows. In this context, we propose a variant of the LSTM model, which we call SE-LSTM (Single Embedding LSTM), which uses embedding techniques to vectorially represent seasonality and latent patterns through variables such as temperature and humidity. The proposal is systematically compared in two parts: The first compares it against other reference architectures such as CNN-LSTM, TCN, LMU, and TPA-LSTM. The second stage, which includes implementation, compares it against the CNN-LSTM, LSTM, and TCN networks. Metrics such as the MAE and MSE are used along with the network weight, a crucial aspect for MCUs such as an ESP32 or Raspberry Pi Pico. An analysis of the memory usage, energy consumption, and generalization across different regions is also included. The results show that the use of embedding optimizes the network space without sacrificing the performance, which is crucial for edge computing. This research is part of a larger project, which focuses on improving agricultural monitoring systems.