Timing Performance Benchmarking of Out-of-Distribution Detection Algorithms

In an open world with a long-tail distribution of input samples, Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) may make unpredictable mistakes for Out-of-Distribution (OOD) inputs at test time, despite high levels of accuracy obtained during model training. OOD detection can be an effective runtime assurance mechanism for safe deployment of machine learning algorithms in safety–critical applications such as medical imaging and autonomous driving. A large number of OOD detection algorithms have been proposed in recent years, with a wide range of performance metrics in terms of accuracy and execution time. For real-time safety–critical applications, e.g., autonomous driving, timing performance is of great importance in addition to accuracy. We perform a comprehensive and systematic benchmark study of multiple OOD detection algorithms in terms of both accuracy and execution time on different hardware platforms, including a powerful workstation and a resource-constrained embedded device, equipped with both CPU and GPU. We also profile and analyze the internal details of each algorithm to identify the performance bottlenecks and potential for GPU acceleration. This paper aims to provide a useful reference for the practical deployment of OOD detection algorithms for real-time safety–critical applications.