In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises a communication interface and a processor. The communication interface is to communicate with a plurality of devices. The processor is to: receive compressed data from a first device, wherein the compressed data is associated with visual data captured by sensor(s); perform a current stage of processing on the compressed data using a current CNN, wherein the current stage of processing corresponds to one of a plurality of processing stages associated with the visual data, and wherein the current CNN corresponds to one of a plurality of CNNs associated with the plurality of processing stages; obtain an output associated with the current stage of processing; determine, based on the output, whether processing associated with the visual data is complete; if the processing is complete, output a result associated with the visual data; if the processing is incomplete, transmit the compressed data to a second device.