From Gemma 3 270M to FunctionGemma, How Google AI Constructed a Compact Perform Calling Specialist for Edge Workloads

Google has launched FunctionGemma, a specialised model of the Gemma 3 270M mannequin that’s educated particularly for operate calling and designed to run as an edge agent that maps pure language to executable API actions.

However, What’s FunctionGemma?

FunctionGemma is a 270M parameter textual content solely transformer based mostly on Gemma 3 270M. It retains the identical structure as Gemma 3 and is launched as an open mannequin below the Gemma license, however the coaching goal and chat format are devoted to operate calling somewhat than free kind dialogue.

The mannequin is meant to be wonderful tuned for particular operate calling duties. It isn’t positioned as a common chat assistant. The first design objective is to translate person directions and gear definitions into structured operate calls, then optionally summarize software responses for the person.

From an interface perspective, FunctionGemma is offered as an ordinary causal language mannequin. Inputs and outputs are textual content sequences, with an enter context of 32K tokens and an output finances of as much as 32K tokens per request, shared with the enter size.

Structure and coaching knowledge

The mannequin makes use of the Gemma 3 transformer structure and the identical 270M parameter scale as Gemma 3 270M. The coaching and runtime stack reuse the analysis and infrastructure used for Gemini, together with JAX and ML Pathways on giant TPU clusters.

FunctionGemma makes use of Gemma’s 256K vocabulary, which is optimized for JSON constructions and multilingual textual content. This improves token effectivity for operate schemas and gear responses and reduces sequence size for edge deployments the place latency and reminiscence are tight.

The mannequin is educated on 6T tokens, with a information cutoff in August 2024. The dataset focuses on two predominant classes:

• public software and API definitions
• software use interactions that embody prompts, operate calls, operate responses and pure language comply with up messages that summarize outputs or request clarification

This coaching sign teaches each syntax, which operate to name and the way to format arguments, and intent, when to name a operate and when to ask for extra data.

Dialog format and management tokens

FunctionGemma doesn’t use a free kind chat format. It expects a strict dialog template that separates roles and gear associated areas. Dialog turns are wrapped with function ... the place roles are usually developer, person or mannequin.

Inside these turns, FunctionGemma depends on a hard and fast set of management token pairs

• and for software definitions
• and for the mannequin’s software calls
• and for serialized software outputs

These markers let the mannequin distinguish pure language textual content from operate schemas and from execution outcomes. The Hugging Face apply_chat_template API and the official Gemma templates generate this construction robotically for messages and gear lists.

Effective tuning and Cellular Actions efficiency

Out of the field, FunctionGemma is already educated for generic software use. Nevertheless, the official Cellular Actions information and the mannequin card emphasize that small fashions attain manufacturing stage reliability solely after activity particular wonderful tuning.

The Cellular Actions demo makes use of a dataset the place every instance exposes a small set of instruments for Android system operations, for instance create a contact, set a calendar occasion, management the flashlight and map viewing. FunctionGemma learns to map utterances equivalent to ‘Create a calendar occasion for lunch tomorrow’ or ‘Activate the flashlight’ to these instruments with structured arguments.

On the Cellular Actions analysis, the bottom FunctionGemma mannequin reaches 58 p.c accuracy on a held out check set. After wonderful tuning with the general public cookbook recipe, accuracy will increase to 85 p.c.

Edge brokers and reference demos

The primary deployment goal for FunctionGemma is edge brokers that run regionally on telephones, laptops and small accelerators equivalent to NVIDIA Jetson Nano. The small parameter depend, 0.3B, and assist for quantization permit inference with low reminiscence and low latency on shopper {hardware}.

Google ships a number of reference experiences by the Google AI Edge Gallery

• Cellular Actions exhibits a totally offline assistant type agent for machine management utilizing FunctionGemma wonderful tuned on the Cellular Actions dataset and deployed on machine.
• Tiny Backyard is a voice managed sport the place the mannequin decomposes instructions equivalent to “Plant sunflowers within the high row and water them” into area particular features like plant_seed and water_plots with specific grid coordinates.
• FunctionGemma Physics Playground runs fully within the browser utilizing Transformers.js and lets customers remedy physics puzzles through pure language directions that the mannequin converts into simulation actions.

These demos validate {that a} 270M parameter operate caller can assist multi step logic on machine with out server calls, given acceptable wonderful tuning and gear interfaces.

Key Takeaways

1. FunctionGemma is a 270M parameter, textual content solely variant of Gemma 3 that’s educated particularly for operate calling, not for open ended chat, and is launched as an open mannequin below the Gemma phrases of use.
2. The mannequin retains the Gemma 3 transformer structure and 256k token vocabulary, helps 32k tokens per request shared between enter and output, and is educated on 6T tokens.
3. FunctionGemma makes use of a strict chat template with function ... and devoted management tokens for operate declarations, operate calls and performance responses, which is required for dependable software use in manufacturing programs.
4. On the Cellular Actions benchmark, accuracy improves from 58 p.c for the bottom mannequin to 85 p.c after activity particular wonderful tuning, exhibiting that small operate callers want area knowledge greater than immediate engineering.
5. The 270M scale and quantization assist let FunctionGemma run on telephones, laptops and Jetson class gadgets, and the mannequin is already built-in into ecosystems equivalent to Hugging Face, Vertex AI, LM Studio and edge demos like Cellular Actions, Tiny Backyard and the Physics Playground.

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