# RS-Agent: Automating Remote Sensing Tasks through Intelligent Agent

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2406.07089 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.07089/

## Key facts

- Cited by 49 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Embodied and 3D vision-language models, one of 16 directions in Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models.
- Builds on 64 of its 133 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 Jun 2024.

## Placed in

- Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models / [Embodied and 3D vision-language models](https://mlsanity.com/mllm/embodied-and-3d-vision-language-models/)
- LLM agents and tool use / [Multimodal and embodied agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/multimodal-and-embodied-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 64)

- [Learning Transferable Visual Models From Natural Language Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.00020/) (2021)
- [Language Models are Few-Shot Learners](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.14165/) (2020)
- [An Image is Worth 16x16 Words: Transformers for Image Recognition at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.11929/) (2020)
- [GPT-4 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08774/) (2023)
- [Training language models to follow instructions with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.02155/) (2022)
- [LLaMA: Open and Efficient Foundation Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.13971/) (2023)
- [Llama 2: Open Foundation and Fine-Tuned Chat Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.09288/) (2023)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Visual Instruction Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.08485/) (2023)
- [Emerging Properties in Self-Supervised Vision Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2104.14294/) (2021)
- [You Only Look Once: Unified, Real-Time Object Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.02640/) (2015)
- [Improved Baselines with Visual Instruction Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.03744/) (2023)
- [Reflexion: Language Agents with Verbal Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.11366/) (2023)
- [Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.03442/) (2023)
- [OPT: Open Pre-trained Transformer Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.01068/) (2022)
- [Playing Atari with Deep Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1312.5602/) (2013)
- [InstructBLIP: Towards General-purpose Vision-Language Models with Instruction Tuning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.06500/) (2023)
- [Billion-scale similarity search with GPUs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.08734/) (2017)
- [A Survey on Large Language Model based Autonomous Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.11432/) (2023)
- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Large Language Models: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.10997/) (2023)
- [AutoGen: Enabling Next-Gen LLM Applications via Multi-Agent Conversation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.08155/) (2023)
- [WebGPT: Browser-assisted question-answering with human feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.09332/) (2021)
- [From Local to Global: A Graph RAG Approach to Query-Focused Summarization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16130/) (2024)
- [The Rise and Potential of Large Language Model Based Agents: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.07864/) (2023)
- [HuggingGPT: Solving AI Tasks with ChatGPT and its Friends in Hugging Face](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.17580/) (2023)
- [M3-Embedding: Multi-Linguality, Multi-Functionality, Multi-Granularity Text Embeddings Through Self-Knowledge Distillation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.03216/) (2024)
- [mPLUG-Owl: Modularization Empowers Large Language Models with Multimodality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.14178/) (2023)
- [Real-ESRGAN: Training Real-World Blind Super-Resolution with Pure Synthetic Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.10833/) (2021)
- [Shikra: Unleashing Multimodal LLM's Referential Dialogue Magic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.15195/) (2023)
- [A Generalist Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.06175/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 30 of 49)

- [ThinkGeo: Evaluating Tool-Augmented Agents for Remote Sensing Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.23752/) (2025)
- [Earth-Agent: Unlocking the Full Landscape of Earth Observation with Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.23141/) (2025)
- [Remote Sensing SpatioTemporal Vision-Language Models: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.02573/) (2024)
- [An LLM Agent for Automatic Geospatial Data Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.18792/) (2024)
- [A Survey on Remote Sensing Foundation Models: From Vision to Multimodality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.22081/) (2025)
- [Towards LLM Agents for Earth Observation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.12110/) (2025)
- [Designing Domain-Specific Agents via Hierarchical Task Abstraction Mechanism](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17198/) (2025)
- [OpenEarthAgent: A Unified Framework for Tool-Augmented Geospatial Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.17665/) (2026)
- [Foundation Models in Remote Sensing: Evolving from Unimodality to Multimodality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.00988/) (2026)
- [RescueADI: Adaptive Disaster Interpretation in Remote Sensing Images with Autonomous Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.13384/) (2024)
- [OpenEarth-Agent: From Tool Calling to Tool Creation for Open-Environment Earth Observation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.22148/) (2026)
- [CangLing-KnowFlow: A Unified Knowledge-and-Flow-fused Agent for Comprehensive Remote Sensing Applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.15231/) (2025)
- [RemoteAgent: Bridging Vague Human Intents and Earth Observation with RL-based Agentic MLLMs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.07765/) (2026)
- [Agentic AI in Remote Sensing: Foundations, Taxonomy, and Emerging Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.01891/) (2026)
- [Can LLM Agents Respond to Disasters? Benchmarking Heterogeneous Geospatial Reasoning in Emergency Operations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.11633/) (2026)
- [VICoT-Agent: A Vision-Interleaved Chain-of-Thought Framework for Interpretable Multimodal Reasoning and Scalable Remote Sensing Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.20085/) (2025)
- [Experience-Driven Multi-Agent Systems Are Training-free Context-aware Earth Observers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02559/) (2026)
- [Exploring Foundation Models in Remote Sensing Image Change Detection: A Comprehensive Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07824/) (2024)
- [RS-Claw: Progressive Active Tool Exploration via Hierarchical Skill Trees for Remote Sensing Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.13391/) (2026)
- [TerraLogic: A Benchmark for Hierarchical Geospatial Reasoning in Earth Observation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.12497/) (2026)
- [IC-EO: Interpretable Code-based assistant for Earth Observation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.00117/) (2026)
- [RSMeM: Knowledge-Enhanced Memory Evolution for Remote Sensing Agents with Systematic Evaluation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.24772/) (2026)
- [A Zero-Shot Learning Approach for Ephemeral Gully Detection from Remote Sensing using Vision Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.01169/) (2025)
- [Augmented Vision-Language Models: A Systematic Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.22933/) (2025)
- [Remote Sensing Image Intelligent Interpretation with the Language-Centered Perspective: Principles, Methods and Challenges](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06832/) (2025)
- [REMSA: Foundation Model Selection for Remote Sensing via a Constraint-Aware Agent](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17442/) (2025)
- [Thinking on Maps: How Foundation Model Agents Explore, Remember, and Reason Map Environments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.24504/) (2025)
- [Bidirectional Semantic Complementary Tool Retrieval for Remote Sensing Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.07538/) (2026)
- [GeoForge: Non-Parametric Self-Evolving Agents for Earth-Observation Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.10494/) (2026)
- [Vision-Language Agents for Interactive Forest Change Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.04497/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Recent advances in Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have shown promise for remote sensing tasks such as visual question answering and scene understanding. However, existing models remain limited to basic instruction-following and struggle with real-world scenarios that require multi-source data integration, fine-grained spatial reasoning, and domain expertise. To address this gap, we propose RS-Agent, a domain-adapted intelligent agent that connects user intent with professional remote sensing workflows through structured task planning and tool orchestration. RS-Agent consists of four components aligned with typical remote sensing workflows: a Central Controller for intent understanding and process planning, a dynamic toolkit for tool execution, a Solution Space for task-specific expert guidance, and a Knowledge Space for domain knowledge support. We further introduce Task-Aware Retrieval, which improves planning by identifying task types and retrieving expert-defined solutions, and DualRAG, a weighted dual-path retrieval-augmented generation method that enhances the relevance and completeness of retrieved knowledge. RS-Agent natively supports multiple imaging modalities, including optical and SAR imagery, and can automatically organize dedicated SAR processing tools into executable workflows. Experiments on 9 datasets and 18 remote sensing tasks show that RS-Agent significantly outperforms state-of-the-art MLLMs, achieving over 95% task planning accuracy and strong results in scene classification, object counting, and remote sensing visual question answering. These results demonstrate the value of combining LLM reasoning with remote sensing expertise for intelligent geospatial analysis.