← All parts of this equation

Equation 4 · Part 3 · Shipping an On-Device AI Feature That Actually Works in the Field

Symbol c_local

E[C]=clocal+(1−p) ccloud.E[C] = c_{\mathrm{local}} + (1-p)\, c_{\mathrm{cloud}}.
clocalc_{\mathrm{local}}

What this part means

the write.

Its job in the formula

clc_local is one of the signed contributions combined to compute the quantity on the left.

Where the article explains it

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.

The passage around this formula

…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…

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 →

See this notation across published equations →

Sources cited in the article section

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