Research
Frontier robotics research: arXiv cs.RO papers, embodied AI, VLA models, manipulation, navigation and learning systems.
Frontier robotics research: arXiv cs.RO papers, embodied AI, VLA models, manipulation, navigation and learning systems.
Latest in Research
4787 storiesCooperative Risk-Aware Exploration in Heterogeneous Multi-Robot Systems Using Algorithmic Altruism
arXiv:2608.28409v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Multi-robot systems are well-positioned for exploration in hazardous environments, but effective deployment requ…
STEGNav: Spatio-Temporal Event Graph Reasoning for Multimodal Lifelong Object Navigation
arXiv:2608.28279v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Multimodal lifelong navigation requires an agent to autonomously explore unseen environments while sequentially …
DeicticVLA: Unifying Instruction Modes Based on Language and Deictic Gestures in a Single VLA
arXiv:2608.28108v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Vision-Language-Action models (VLAs) allow users to specify manipulation tasks in natural language, but distingu…
CAVE-NAV: VLM-Based Autonomous 3D Navigation in Underwater Cave Environments
arXiv:2608.27793v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Autonomous navigation in underwater cave environments is essential for search-and-rescue operations, scientific …
Coordinated Motion Planning for Multi-Arm Systems via Iterative LQ Games
arXiv:2608.27726v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Multi-agent motion planning for high-degree-of-freedom robotics manipulators in shared workspaces remains a fund…
One year in a forest: Analyzing the challenges of autonomous navigation in subarctic environments
arXiv:2608.27628v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Subarctic regions have the potential to see increased deployment of autonomous robots in applications including …
OceanGym: A Benchmark Environment for Underwater Embodied Agents
arXiv:2509.26536v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We introduce OceanGym, the first comprehensive benchmark for ocean underwater embodied agents, designe…
Reasoning models do not yet follow their reasoning in autonomous driving: The KITScenes LongTail Dataset
arXiv:2603.23607v3 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Handling rare events is the central open challenge in autonomous driving. Reasoning models, which gene…
Object Reconstruction under Occlusion with Generative Priors and Contact-induced Constraints
arXiv:2512.05079v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Object geometry is key information for robot manipulation. Yet, object reconstruction is a challenging…
Transformer-Based Autonomous Driving Models and Deployment-Oriented Compression: A Survey
arXiv:2304.10891v4 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Transformer-based models are becoming a central paradigm in autonomous driving because they can captur…
Energy-Efficient Collaborative Transport of Tether-Suspended Payloads via Rotating Equilibrium
arXiv:2603.06955v2 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Collaborative aerial transportation of tethered payloads is fundamentally limited by space, power, and weigh…
Receding Fixed-Horizon Optimization for Near-Time-Optimal Trajectory Planning and Control
arXiv:2503.11072v4 Announce Type: replace Abstract: Time-optimal trajectory planning and control is central for autonomous vehicles, yet its application and rea…
PanelShield: Verifiable Closed-Loop Safe Planning for Robotic Industrial Panel Operation
arXiv:2608.28305v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Industrial panel operation is knowledge-intensive and safety-critical. Beyond control recognition and action gen…
Spatial-Semantic Reasoning using Large Language Models for Efficient UAV Search Operations
arXiv:2608.28270v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We present a real-time semantic navigation framework for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) focused on improving ti…
CoCoBench: A Cooperative Coordination Benchmark for Embodied Multi-Agent Task Planning
arXiv:2608.28266v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Agent systems powered by multimodal large language models (MLLMs) have advanced rapidly in recent years, yet exi…
PAMoR: Parameterized Affective Motion Generation in Real Time for Humanoid Robots
arXiv:2608.28213v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: People read a humanoid robot's motion in social settings not only for the action performed but for the affect co…
From Small Talk to Rapport: Exploring Robot Self-Disclosure in Collaborative Tasks
arXiv:2608.28154v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: People naturally chat while collaborating and share personal information (i.e., self-disclose) to build rapport …
PHR-VLA: Planning Horizon Reasoning for Vision-Language-Action Models
arXiv:2608.27609v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Vision-language-action models (VLAs) have shown strong promise for general-purpose robotic manipulation by mappi…
EXL acquires physical AI model developer iMerit
The EXL and iMerit executives explain how their companies' combined expertise and platforms will help developers with reliable physical AI. The post EXL acquire…
How Locus is getting a grasp on one of robotics biggest challenges: manipulation
Locus Robotics recently acquired Nexera Robotics, which create unique soft picking technology, bolstering its manipulation capabilities. The post How Locus is g…
MeshPriorDiT: Hierarchical Modeling for Action-Conditioned Cloth Dynamics
arXiv:2608.26766v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Action-conditioned cloth dynamics prediction requires both locally plausible deformation and long-range coordina…
Online Joint Calibration of Steering Offset and Planar LiDAR Extrinsics for Wheeled Mobile Robots
arXiv:2608.26789v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Accurate steering sensing and LiDAR-to-vehicle extrinsics are crucial for reliable path tracking in warehouse mo…
CLIPPER: Replayable Shortlisted Optimization for Repeated Spatial Coverage Planning
arXiv:2608.26819v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Operational requirements developed with the City of Braunschweig frame municipal micromobility planning under ge…
Contact-Aided Factor-Graph Localization for Underwater Sampling
arXiv:2608.26932v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Accurate state estimation for autonomous underwater vehicles performing close-range seafloor sampling remains ch…
Arbitrary-Order Hermite Interpolation of Rigid-Motion Jets via Hyper-Multidual Quaternions
arXiv:2608.27000v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: We study bilateral interpolation of finite-order rigid-motion jets represented by unit dual quaternions. An orde…
GRAFT: Grounded and Efficient Online Reinforcement Adaptation for Fine-Grained Robot Manipulation
arXiv:2608.27079v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Pretrained vision-language-action (VLA) policies provide strong priors for robot manipulation, yet adapting them…
Task-space model-based control of pneumatic soft actuators
arXiv:2608.27186v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Soft actuators enable dexterous and compliant interaction, but closed-loop task-space control remains challengin…
STEP: State-Aware Task Estimation and Planning with Multi-Modal LLMs for Human-Robot Collaboration
arXiv:2608.27225v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Effective human-robot collaboration in industrial settings requires robots to understand human intentions and as…
FlashVLA: Streaming Action Decoding for Fast and Asynchronous VLA Inference
arXiv:2608.27384v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models are increasingly promising for robotic manipulation, yet their real-world de…
Decoupling Planning and Control for Instructable Agents
arXiv:2608.26788v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Recent work shows that pre-trained, instruction-tuned vision-language models (VLMs) perform well at mapping fr…