← All parts of this equation

Equation 1 · Part 2 · Shipping an On-Device AI Feature That Actually Works in the Field

subscript

clocalc_{\mathrm{local}}
subscript

What this part means

The lower label selects a particular version, component, or indexed member of the quantity. For example, x₀ and xₜ can be values at different positions.

Its job in the formula

A subscript distinguishes a version, component, step, or member of a quantity. It does not automatically mean multiplication.

The passage around this formula

That example is useful precisely because it exposes what a “local-agent-with-fallback” architecture actually costs, which is easy to gloss over in a design review. Escalation is additive, not a substitution: a request that ultimately needs the cloud still pays for the local attempt first. Write clocalc_{\mathrm{local}} for the cost — in latency, energy, or both — of attempting the request locally, ccloudc_{\mathrm{cloud}} for the marginal cost of the network round trip once escalation is triggered, and p for the probability a request is judged solvable without escalating. If the local attempt always runs before the decision to escalate is made, the expected cost per request is

Read this part in the article →

Learn the underlying idea

A subscript is a label attached below a symbol. It often selects a time step, component, category, or member of a sequence.

Open the illustrated subscripts: which member of a family? guide →

Sources cited in the article section

These citations provide research context; check each source for the exact claim it supports.