# VLM-MPC: Vision Language Foundation Model (VLM)-Guided Model Predictive Controller (MPC) for Autonomous Driving

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.04821 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.04821/

## Key facts

- Cited by 22 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in VLMs for autonomous driving, one of 9 directions in End-to-end autonomous driving.
- Builds on 24 of its 34 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 9 Aug 2024.

## Placed in

- End-to-end autonomous driving / [VLMs for autonomous driving](https://mlsanity.com/driving/vlms-for-autonomous-driving/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [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)
- [nuScenes: A multimodal dataset for autonomous driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1903.11027/) (2019)
- [DriveVLM: The Convergence of Autonomous Driving and Large Vision-Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12289/) (2024)
- [DriveGPT4: Interpretable End-to-end Autonomous Driving via Large Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01412/) (2023)
- [ChauffeurNet: Learning to Drive by Imitating the Best and Synthesizing the Worst](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1812.03079/) (2018)
- [GPT-Driver: Learning to Drive with GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01415/) (2023)
- [LMDrive: Closed-Loop End-to-End Driving with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07488/) (2023)
- [Driving with LLMs: Fusing Object-Level Vector Modality for Explainable Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01957/) (2023)
- [DiLu: A Knowledge-Driven Approach to Autonomous Driving with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.16292/) (2023)
- [LanguageMPC: Large Language Models as Decision Makers for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.03026/) (2023)
- [A Language Agent for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.10813/) (2023)
- [Can Autonomous Vehicles Identify, Recover From, and Adapt to Distribution Shifts?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.14911/) (2020)
- [Dolphins: Multimodal Language Model for Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00438/) (2023)
- [Can Large Language Models Really Improve by Self-critiquing Their Own Plans?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08118/) (2023)
- [ADriver-I: A General World Model for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.13549/) (2023)
- [Receive, Reason, and React: Drive as You Say with Large Language Models in Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08034/) (2023)
- [LLM-Assist: Enhancing Closed-Loop Planning with Language-Based Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.00125/) (2023)
- [Personalized Autonomous Driving with Large Language Models: Field Experiments](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.09397/) (2023)
- [LaMPilot: An Open Benchmark Dataset for Autonomous Driving with Language Model Programs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.04372/) (2023)
- [PlanAgent: A Multi-modal Large Language Agent for Closed-loop Vehicle Motion Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.01587/) (2024)
- [Asynchronous Large Language Model Enhanced Planner for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14556/) (2024)
- [DriVLMe: Enhancing LLM-based Autonomous Driving Agents with Embodied and Social Experiences](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.03008/) (2024)
- [Is a 3D-Tokenized LLM the Key to Reliable Autonomous Driving?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.18361/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 22 of 22)

- [A Survey on Vision-Language-Action Models for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.24044/) (2025)
- [V2X-VLM: End-to-End V2X Cooperative Autonomous Driving Through Large Vision-Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.09251/) (2024)
- [Exploring the Roles of Large Language Models in Reshaping Transportation Systems: A Survey, Framework, and Roadmap](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.21411/) (2025)
- [On-Board Vision-Language Models for Personalized Autonomous Vehicle Motion Control: System Design and Real-World Validation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.11913/) (2024)
- [Point-It-Out: Benchmarking Embodied Reasoning for Vision Language Models in Multi-Stage Visual Grounding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.25794/) (2025)
- [Generative AI for Autonomous Driving: Frontiers and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.08854/) (2025)
- [Planning Safety Trajectories with Dual-Phase, Physics-Informed, and Transportation Knowledge-Driven Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.04562/) (2025)
- [Simulating the Unseen: Crash Prediction Must Learn from What Did Not Happen](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.21743/) (2025)
- [DriveSOTIF: Advancing Perception SOTIF Through Multimodal Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.07084/) (2025)
- [LVLM-MPC Collaboration for Autonomous Driving: A Safety-Aware and Task-Scalable Control Architecture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.04980/) (2025)
- [GeoVLM: Improving Automated Vehicle Geolocalisation Using Vision-Language Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.13669/) (2025)
- [VLM-UDMC: VLM-Enhanced Unified Decision-Making and Motion Control for Urban Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.15266/) (2025)
- [Listen, Look, Drive: Coupling Audio Instructions for User-aware VLA-based Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.12142/) (2026)
- [Data Metabolism: An Efficient Data Design Schema For Vision Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.12316/) (2025)
- [AD-EE: Early Exiting for Fast and Reliable Vision-Language Models in Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.05404/) (2025)
- [Generative Model Predictive Control in Manufacturing Processes: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.17865/) (2025)
- [A Review of Learning-Based Motion Planning: Toward a Data-Driven Optimal Control Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.11944/) (2025)
- [Driving Through Uncertainty: Risk-Averse Control with LLM Commonsense for Autonomous Driving under Perception Deficits](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07020/) (2025)
- [Research on Driving Scenario Technology Based on Multimodal Large Lauguage Model Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.02014/) (2025)
- [KnowDiffuser: A Knowledge-Guided Diffusion Planner with LLM Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.10441/) (2026)
- [Large Language Models in the Loop: A Stability- and Network-Aware Survey in Networked Control, Cyber-Physical, and Multi-Agent Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.16599/) (2026)
- [A Survey on End-to-End Autonomous Driving Training from the Perspectives of Data, Strategy, and Platform](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.00926/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Motivated by the emergent reasoning capabilities of Vision Language Models (VLMs) and their potential to improve the comprehensibility of autonomous driving systems, this paper introduces a closed-loop autonomous driving controller called VLM-MPC, which combines the Model Predictive Controller (MPC) with VLM to evaluate how model-based control could enhance VLM decision-making. The proposed VLM-MPC is structured into two asynchronous components: The upper layer VLM generates driving parameters (e.g., desired speed, desired headway) for lower-level control based on front camera images, ego vehicle state, traffic environment conditions, and reference memory; The lower-level MPC controls the vehicle in real-time using these parameters, considering engine lag and providing state feedback to the entire system. Experiments based on the nuScenes dataset validated the effectiveness of the proposed VLM-MPC across various environments (e.g., night, rain, and intersections). The results demonstrate that the VLM-MPC consistently maintains Post Encroachment Time (PET) above safe thresholds, in contrast to some scenarios where the VLM-based control posed collision risks. Additionally, the VLM-MPC enhances smoothness compared to the real-world trajectories and VLM-based control. By comparing behaviors under different environmental settings, we highlight the VLM-MPC's capability to understand the environment and make reasoned inferences. Moreover, we validate the contributions of two key components, the reference memory and the environment encoder, to the stability of responses through ablation tests.