Bridging Language and Action: Awesome Language-conditioned Robot Manipulation Models

News

[November 30 2024] Extended Survey paper is available!

[October 02 2024] Cutting edge papers in 2024 are avaliable!!!

Table of the Content

• Survey Paper
• Language-conditioned Reinforcement Learning
• Language-conditioned Imitation Learning
  • Behaviour Cloning
  • Inverse Reinforcement Learning
• Diffusion Policy
• Neuralsymbolic
• Enpowered by LLMs
  • Planning
  • Reasoning
• Enpowered by VLMs
  • Vision-Language-Action Models (VLAMs)
• Comparative Analysis
  • Simulators
  • Benchmarks
  • Models

Survey

This paper is basically based on the survey paper:

Bridging Language and Action: A Survey of Language-Conditioned Robot Manipulation
Hongkuan Zhou, Xiangtong Yao, Oier Mees, Yuan Meng, Ted Xiao, Yonatan Bisk, Jean Oh, Edward Johns, Mohit Shridhar, Dhruv Shah, Jesse Thomason, Kai Huang, Joyce Chai, Zhenshan Bing, Alois Knoll

Language-conditioned Reinforcement Learning

Games

• From language to goals: Inverse reinforcement learning for vision-based instruction following [paper]
• Grounding english commands to reward function [paper]
• Learning to understand goal specifications by modelling reward [paper]
• Beating atari with natural language guided reinforcement learning [paper] [code]
• Using natural language for reward shaping in reinforcement learning [paper]

Navigation

• Gated-attention architectures for task-oriented language grounding [paper] [code]
• Mapping instructions and visual observations to actions with reinforcement learning [paper]
• Modular multitask reinforcement learning with policy sketches [paper]
• Representation learning for grounded spatial reasoning [paper]

Manipulation

• Lancon-learn: Learning with language to enable generalization in multi-task manipulation [paper] [code]
• Pixl2r: Guiding reinforcement learning using natural language by mapping pixels to rewards [paper][code]
• Learning from symmetry: Meta-reinforcement learning with symmetrical behaviors and language instructions [paper][website]
• Meta-reinforcement learning via language instructions [paper][code][website]
• Learning language-conditioned robot behavior from offline data and crowd-sourced annotation [paper]
• Concept2robot: Learning manipulation concepts from instructions and human demonstrations [paper]

Language-conditioned Imitation Learning

Behaviour Cloning

• Language conditioned imitation learning over unstructured data [paper] [code] [website]
• Bc-z: Zero-shot task generalization with robotic imitation learning [paper]
• What matters in language-conditioned robotic imitation learning over unstructured data [paper] [code][website]
• Grounding language with visual affordances over unstructured data [paper] [code][website]
• Language-conditioned imitation learning with base skill priors under unstructured data [paper] [code] [website]
• Pay attention!- robustifying a deep visuomotor policy through task-focused visual attention [paper]
• Language-conditioned imitation learning for robot manipulation tasks [paper]
• Multimodal Diffusion Transformer for Learning from Play [paper]
• Zero-Shot Robotic Manipulation with Pretrained Image-Editing Diffusion Models [paper] [code] [website]
• PlayFusion: Skill Acquisition via Diffusion from Language-Annotated Play [paper] [website]
• ChainedDiffuser: Unifying Trajectory Diffusion and Keypose Prediction for Robotic Manipulation [paper] [code] [website]
• GNFactor: Multi-Task Real Robot Learning with Generalizable Neural Feature Fields [paper] [code] [website]
• DNAct: Diffusion Guided Multi-Task 3D Policy Learning [paper] [website]
• 3D Diffuser Actor: Policy Diffusion with 3D Scene Representations [paper] [code] [website]
• Vision-Language Foundation Models as Effective Robot Imitators [paper]
• OpenVLA:An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Model [paper] [code] [website]
• Open X-Embodiment: Robotic Learning Datasets and RT-X Models [paper]
• 3D-VLA: A 3D Vision-Language-Action Generative World Model [paper] [code] [website]
• Octo: An Open-Source Generalist Robot Policy [paper] [code] [website]

Inverse Reinforcement Learning

• Grounding english commands to reward function [paper]
• From language to goals: Inverse reinforcement learning for vision-based instruction following [paper]

Diffusion Policy

• Multimodal Diffusion Transformer for Learning from Play [paper]
• Zero-Shot Robotic Manipulation with Pretrained Image-Editing Diffusion Models [paper] [code] [website]
• PlayFusion: Skill Acquisition via Diffusion from Language-Annotated Play [paper] [website]
• ChainedDiffuser: Unifying Trajectory Diffusion and Keypose Prediction for Robotic Manipulation [paper] [code] [website]
• DNAct: Diffusion Guided Multi-Task 3D Policy Learning [paper] [website]
• 3D Diffuser Actor: Policy Diffusion with 3D Scene Representations [paper]

Neuralsymbolic

Learning for Reasoning

• Hierarchical understanding in robotic manipulation: A knowledge-based framework [paper]
• Semantic Grasping Via a Knowledge Graph of Robotic Manipulation: A Graph Representation Learning Approach [paper]
• Knowledge Acquisition and Completion for Long-Term Human-Robot Interactions using Knowledge Graph Embedding [paper]

Reasoning for Learning

• Tell me dave: Context-sensitive grounding of natural language to manipulation instructions [paper]
• Neuro-symbolic procedural planning with commonsense prompting [paper]
• Reinforcement Learning Based Navigation with Semantic Knowledge of Indoor Environments [paper]
• Learning Neuro-Symbolic Skills for Bilevel Planning [[paper]](Learning Neuro-Symbolic Skills for Bilevel Planning)

Learning-Reasoning

• Learning Neuro-symbolic Programs for Language Guided Robot Manipulation [paper] [code] [website]
• Long-term robot manipulation task planning with scene graph and semantic knowledge [paper]

Empowered by LLMs

Planning

• Sayplan: Grounding large language models using 3d scene graphs for scalable task planning [paper]
• Language models as zero-shot planners: Extracting actionable knowledge for embodied agents [paper]
• Describe, explain, plan and select: Interactive planning with large language models enables open-world multi-task agents [paper]
• Progprompt: Generating situated robot task plans using large language models [paper]
• Robots that ask for help: Uncertainty alignment for large language model planners [paper]
• Task and motion planning with large language models for object rearrangement [paper]
• Do as i can, not as i say: Grounding language in robotic affordances [paper]
• The 2014 international planning competition: Progress and trends [paper]
• Robot task planning via deep reinforcement learning: a tabletop object sorting application [paper]
• Robot task planning and situation handling in open worlds [paper] [code] [website]
• Embodied Task Planning with Large Language Models [paper] [code] [website]
• Text2motion: From natural language instructions to feasible plans [paper] [website]
• Large language models as commonsense knowledge for large-scale task planning [paper] [code] [website]
• Alphablock: Embodied finetuning for vision-language reasoning in robot manipulation [paper]
• Learning to reason over scene graphs: a case study of finetuning gpt-2 into a robot language model for grounded task planning [paper] [code]
• Scaling up and distilling down: Language-guided robot skill acquisition [paper][code] [website]
• Stap: Sequencing task-agnostic policies [paper] [code][website]
• Inner monologue: Embodied reasoning through planning with language models [paper] [website]

Reasoning

• Rearrangement:A challenge for embodied ai [paper]
• The threedworld transport challenge: A visually guided task and motion planning benchmark for physically realistic embodied ai [paper]
• Tidy up my room: Multi-agent cooperation for service tasks in smart environments [paper]
• A quantifiable stratification strategy for tidy-up in service robotics [paper]
• Tidybot: Personalized robot assistance with large language models [paper]
• Housekeep: Tidying virtual households using commonsense reasoning [paper]
• Building cooperative embodied agents modularly with large language models [paper]
• Socratic models: Composing zero-shot multimodal reasoning with language [paper]
• Voyager: An open-ended embodied agent with large language models [paper]
• Translating natural language to planning goals with large-language models [paper]

Empowered by VLMs

• Cliport: What and where pathways for robotic manipulation [paper] [code] [website]
• Transporter networks: Rearranging the visual world for robotic manipulation [paper] [code] [website]
• Simple but effective: Clip embeddings for embodied ai [paper]
• Instruct2act: Mapping multi-modality instructions to robotic actions with large language model [paper] [code]
• Latte: Language trajectory transformer [paper] [code]
• Embodied Task Planning with Large Language Models [paper] [code] [website]
• Palm-e: An embodied multimodal language model [paper] [website]
• Socratic models: Composing zero-shot multimodal reasoning with language [paper]
• Pretrained language models as visual planners for human assistance [paper] [code]
• Open-world object manipulation using pre-trained vision-language models [paper] [website]
• Robotic skill acquisition via instruction augmentation with vision-language models [paper] [website]
• Language reward modulation for pretraining reinforcement learning [paper] [code]
• Vision-language models as success detectors [paper]

Vision Language Action Models (VLAMs)

• A Generalist Agent [paper]
• RT-1: Robotics Transformer for Real-World Control at Scale [paper] [code] [website]
• RT-2: Vision-Language-Action Models Transfer Web Knowledge to Robotic Control [paper]
• Vision-Language Foundation Models as Effective Robot Imitators [paper]
• OpenVLA:An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Model [paper] [code] [website]
• Open X-Embodiment: Robotic Learning Datasets and RT-X Models [paper]
• 3D-VLA: A 3D Vision-Language-Action Generative World Model [paper] [code] [website]

Comparative Analysis

Simulators

Simulator	Description
PyBullet	With its origins rooted in the Bullet physics engine, PyBullet transcends the boundaries of conventional simulation platforms, offering a wealth of tools and resources for tasks ranging from robot manipulation and locomotion to computer-aided design analysis.
MuJoCo	MuJoCo, short for "Multi-Joint dynamics with Contact", originates from the vision of creating a physics engine tailored for simulating articulated and deformable bodies. It has evolved into an essential tool for exploring diverse domains, from robot locomotion and manipulation to human movement and control.
CoppeliaSim	CoppeliaSim is formerly known as V-REP (Virtual Robot Experimentation Platform). It offers a comprehensive environment for simulating and prototyping robotic systems, enabling users to create, analyze, and optimize a wide spectrum of robotic applications. Its origins as an educational tool have evolved into a full-fledged simulation framework, revered for its versatility and user-friendly interface.
NVIDIA Omniverse	NVIDIA Omniverse offers real-time physics simulation and lifelike rendering, creating a virtual environment for comprehensive testing and fine-tuning of robotic manipulation algorithms and control strategies, all prior to their actual deployment in the physical realm.
Unity	Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies. Renowned for its user-friendly interface and powerful capabilities, Unity has become a cornerstone in the worlds of video games, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and also simulations.

Benchmarks

Benchmark	Simulation Engine	Manipulator	Observation			Tool used	Multi-agents	Long-horizon
			RGB	Depth	Masks
CALVIN	PyBullet	Franka Panda	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
Meta-world	MuJoCo	Sawyer	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	❌
LEMMA	NVIDIA Omniverse	UR10 & UR5	✅	✅	❌	✅	✅	✅
RLbench	CoppeliaSim	Franka Panda	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
VIMAbench	Pybullet	UR5	✅	❌	❌	❌	❌	✅
LoHoRavens	Pybullet	UR5	✅	✅	❌	❌	❌	✅
ARNOLD	NVIDIA Isaac Gym	Franka Panda	✅	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅

Models

Model	Year	Benchmark	Simulation Engine	Language Module	Perception Module	Real World Experiment	LLM	Reinforcement Learning	Imitation Learning
DREAMCELL	2019	#	-	LSTM	*	❌	❌	❌	✅
PixL2R	2020	Meta-World	MuJoCo	LSTM	CNN	❌	❌	✅	❌
Concept2Robot	2020	#	PyBullet	BERT	ResNet-18	❌	❌	❌	✅
LanguagePolicy	2020	#	CoppeliaSim	GLoVe	Faster RCNN	❌	❌	❌	✅
LOReL	2021	Meta-World	MuJoCo	distillBERT	CNN	✅	❌	❌	✅
CARE	2021	Meta-World	MuJoCo	RoBERTa	*	❌	✅	✅	❌
MCIL	2021	#	MuJoCo	MUSE	CNN	❌	❌	❌	✅
BC-Z	2021	#	-	MUSE	ResNet18	✅	❌	❌	✅
CLIPort	2021	#	Pybullet	CLIP	CLIP/ResNet	✅	❌	❌	✅
LanCon-Learn	2022	Meta-World	MuJoCo	GLoVe	*	❌	❌	✅	✅
MILLON	2022	Meta-World	MuJoCo	GLoVe	*	✅	❌	✅	❌
PaLM-SayCan	2022	#	-	PaLM	ViLD	✅	✅	✅	✅
ATLA	2022	#	PyBullet	BERT-Tiny	CNN	❌	✅	✅	❌
HULC	2022	CALVIN	Pybullet	MiniLM-L3-v2	CNN	❌	❌	❌	✅
PerAct	2022	RLbench	CoppelaSim	CLIP	ViT	✅	❌	❌	✅
RT-1	2022	#	-	USE	EfficientNet-B3	✅	✅	❌	❌
LATTE	2023	#	CoppeliaSim	distillBERT, CLIP	CLIP	✅	❌	❌	❌
DIAL	2022	#	-	CLIP	CLIP	✅	✅	❌	✅
R3M	2022	#	-	distillBERT	ResNet	✅	❌	❌	✅
Inner Monologue	2022	#	-	CLIP	CLIP	✅	✅	❌	❌
NLMap	2023	#	-	CLIP	ViLD	✅	✅	❌	✅
Code as Policies	2023	#	-	GPT3, Codex	ViLD	✅	✅	❌	❌
PROGPROMPT	2023	Virtualhome	Unity3D	GPT-3	*	✅	✅	❌	❌
Language2Reward	2023	#	MuJoCo MPC	GPT-4	*	✅	✅	✅	❌
LfS	2023	Meta-World	MuJoCo	Cons. Parser	*	✅	❌	✅	❌
HULC++	2023	CALVIN	PyBullet	MiniLM-L3-v2	CNN	✅	❌	❌	✅
LEMMA	2023	LEMMA	NVIDIA Omniverse	CLIP	CLIP	❌	❌	❌	✅
SPIL	2023	CALVIN	PyBullet	MiniLM-L3-v2	CNN	✅	❌	❌	✅
PaLM-E	2023	#	PyBullet	PaLM	ViT	✅	✅	❌	✅
LAMP	2023	RLbench	CoppelaSim	ChatGPT	R3M	❌	✅	✅	❌
MOO	2023	#	-	OWL-ViT	OWL-ViT	✅	❌	❌	✅
Instruction2Act	2023	VIMAbench	PyBullet	ChatGPT	CLIP	❌	✅	❌	❌
VoxPoser	2023	#	SAPIEN	CPT-4	OWL-ViT	✅	✅	❌	❌
SuccessVQA	2023	#	IA Playroom	Flamingo	Flamingo	✅	✅	❌	❌
VIMA	2023	VIMAbench	PyBullet	T5 model	ViT	✅	✅	❌	✅
TidyBot	2023	#	-	GPT-3	CLIP	✅	✅	❌	❌
Text2Motion	2023	#	-	GPT-3, Codex	*	✅	✅	✅	❌
LLM-GROP	2023	#	Gazebo	GPT-3	*	✅	✅	❌	❌
Scaling Up	2023	#	MuJoCo	CLIP, GPT-3	ResNet-18	✅	✅	❌	✅
Socratic Models	2023	#	-	RoBERTa, GPT-3	CLIP	✅	✅	❌	❌
SayPlan	2023	#	-	GPT-4	*	✅	✅	❌	❌
RT-2	2023	#	-	PaLI-X, PaLM-E	PaLI-X, PaLM-E	✅	✅	❌	❌
KNOWNO	2023	#	PyBullet	PaLM-2L	*	✅	✅	❌	❌
Diffusion Policy	2023	Push-T	MuJoCo	-	CNN	✅	❌	❌	✅
MDT	2023	CALVIN	PyBullet	CLIP	CLIP	❌	❌	✅	✅
Scaling Up	2023	#	MuJoCo	CLIP	CLIP	✅	❌	❌	✅
Playfussion	2023	CALVIN	PyBullet	Sentence-BERT	ResNet-18	✅	❌	❌	✅
ChainedDiffuer	2023	RLbench	CoppelaSim	CLIP	CLIP	✅	❌	❌	✅
GNFactor	2023	RLbench	CoppelaSIm	CLIP	NeRF	✅	❌	❌	✅
DNAct	2024	RLbench	CoppelaSim	CLIP	NeRF, PointNext	✅	❌	❌	✅
3D Diffuser Actor	2024	CALVIN	PyBullet	CLIP	CLIP	✅	❌	❌	✅
RoboFlamingo	2024	CALVIN	PyBullet	OpenFlamingo	OpenFlamingo	❌	✅	❌	✅
OpenVLA	2024	Open X-Embodiment	-	Llama 2 7B	DinoV2 & SigLIP	✅	✅	❌	✅
RT-X	2024	Open X-Embodiment	-	PaLi-X/PaLM-E	PaLi-X/PaLM-E	✅	✅	❌	✅
PIVOT	2024	Open X-Embodiment	-	GPT-4/Gemini	GPT-4/Gemini	✅	✅	❌	❌
3D-VLA	2024	RL-Bench & CALVIN	CoppeliaSim & PyBullet	3D-LLM	3D-LLM	❌	✅	❌	✅
Octo	2024	Open X-Embodiment	-	T5	CNN	✅	✅	❌	✅
ECoT	2024	BridgeData V2	-	Llama 2 7B	DinoV2 & SigLIP	✅	✅	❌	✅

Citation

If you find this survey useful please consider cite:

@article{zhou2023language,
  author       = {Hongkuan Zhou and
                  Xiangtong Yao and
                  Oier Mees and
                  Yuan Meng and
                  Ted Xiao and
                  Yonatan Bisk and
                  Jean Oh and
                  Edward Johns and
                  Mohit Shridhar and
                  Dhruv Shah and
                  Jesse Thomason and
                  Kai Huang and
                  Joyce Chai and
                  Zhenshan Bing and
                  Alois Knoll},
  title        = {Bridging Language and Action: A Survey of Language-Conditioned Robot Manipulation},
  journal      = {CoRR},
  volume       = {abs/2312.10807},
  year         = {2023},
  url          = {https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2312.10807}
}