# Enhancing Visual Question Answering through Ranking-Based Hybrid Training and Multimodal Fusion

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.07303 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.07303/

## Key facts

- Cited by 16 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 31 of its 88 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 31)

- [A-OKVQA: A Benchmark for Visual Question Answering using World Knowledge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.01718/) (2022)
- [Multimodal Learning with Transformers: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06488/) (2022)
- [Characterizing and overcoming the greedy nature of learning in multi-modal deep neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05306/) (2022)
- [Reliable Visual Question Answering: Abstain Rather Than Answer Incorrectly](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.13631/) (2022)
- [LaTr: Layout-Aware Transformer for Scene-Text VQA](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2112.12494/) (2021)
- [All You May Need for VQA are Image Captions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.01883/) (2022)
- [Robust Explainability: A Tutorial on Gradient-Based Attribution Methods for Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.11400/) (2021)
- [DualVD: An Adaptive Dual Encoding Model for Deep Visual Understanding in Visual Dialogue](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.07251/) (2019)
- [A Review on Methods and Applications in Multimodal Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.09195/) (2022)
- [APEER: Automatic Prompt Engineering Enhances Large Language Model Reranking](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14449/) (2024)
- [LinGCN: Structural Linearized Graph Convolutional Network for Homomorphically Encrypted Inference](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.14331/) (2023)
- [Coarse-to-Fine Reasoning for Visual Question Answering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.02526/) (2021)
- [MaxK-GNN: Extremely Fast GPU Kernel Design for Accelerating Graph Neural Networks Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.08656/) (2023)
- [DQ-DETR: Dual Query Detection Transformer for Phrase Extraction and Grounding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.15516/) (2022)
- [Deep Learning-based Anomaly Detection and Log Analysis for Computer Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.05639/) (2024)
- [Accel-GCN: High-Performance GPU Accelerator Design for Graph Convolution Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.11825/) (2023)
- [Automatic News Generation and Fact-Checking System Based on Language Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.10492/) (2024)
- [Theoretical Analysis of Meta Reinforcement Learning: Generalization Bounds and Convergence Guarantees](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.13290/) (2024)
- [OpenViVQA: Task, Dataset, and Multimodal Fusion Models for Visual Question Answering in Vietnamese](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.04183/) (2023)
- [Image anomaly detection and prediction scheme based on SSA optimized ResNet50-BiGRU model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.13987/) (2024)
- [RankDVQA: Deep VQA based on Ranking-inspired Hybrid Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.08595/) (2022)
- [Learning Adversarial Semantic Embeddings for Zero-Shot Recognition in Open Worlds](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.03416/) (2023)
- [Graph Neural Networks in Vision-Language Image Understanding: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03761/) (2023)
- [Using Automated Vehicle Data as a Fitness Tracker for Sustainability](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.16046/) (2024)
- [Advanced AI Framework for Enhanced Detection and Assessment of Abdominal Trauma: Integrating 3D Segmentation with 2D CNN and RNN Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.16165/) (2024)
- [Sentence Attention Blocks for Answer Grounding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.11593/) (2023)
- [From Pixels to Objects: Cubic Visual Attention for Visual Question Answering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.01923/) (2022)
- [SSNet: A Lightweight Multi-Party Computation Scheme for Practical Privacy-Preserving Machine Learning Service in the Cloud](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.02629/) (2024)
- [Visual Mechanisms Inspired Efficient Transformers for Image and Video Quality Assessment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.14557/) (2022)
- [An experimental study of the vision-bottleneck in VQA](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.06858/) (2022)

## Built on by (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [Cross-border Commodity Pricing Strategy Optimization via Mixed Neural Network for Time Series Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.12115/) (2024)
- [Deep Analysis of Time Series Data for Smart Grid Startup Strategies: A Transformer-LSTM-PSO Model Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.12129/) (2024)
- [Recording Brain Activity While Listening to Music Using Wearable EEG Devices Combined with Bidirectional Long Short-Term Memory Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.12124/) (2024)
- [EITNet: An IoT-Enhanced Framework for Real-Time Basketball Action Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.09954/) (2024)
- [Real-time Monitoring of Lower Limb Movement Resistance Based on Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.19769/) (2024)
- [LTPNet Integration of Deep Learning and Environmental Decision Support Systems for Renewable Energy Demand Forecasting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.15286/) (2024)
- [Real-time Monitoring and Analysis of Track and Field Athletes Based on Edge Computing and Deep Reinforcement Learning Algorithm](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.06720/) (2024)
- [IoT-Based 3D Pose Estimation and Motion Optimization for Athletes: Application of C3D and OpenPose](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.12676/) (2024)
- [TRIZ Method for Urban Building Energy Optimization: GWO-SARIMA-LSTM Forecasting model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.15283/) (2024)
- [GTA-Net: An IoT-Integrated 3D Human Pose Estimation System for Real-Time Adolescent Sports Posture Correction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.06725/) (2024)
- [Intelligent logistics management robot path planning algorithm integrating transformer and GCN network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.02749/) (2025)
- [CPLOYO: A Pulmonary Nodule Detection Model with Multi-Scale Feature Fusion and Nonlinear Feature Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.10045/) (2025)
- [MamNet: A Novel Hybrid Model for Time-Series Forecasting and Frequency Pattern Analysis in Network Traffic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.00304/) (2025)
- [Sherlock Your Queries: Learning to Ask the Right Questions for Dialogue-Based Retrieval](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.18659/) (2025)
- [Research on Short-Video Platform User Decision-Making via Multimodal Temporal Modeling and Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.12269/) (2025)
- [DT-NeRF: A Diffusion and Transformer-Based Optimization Approach for Neural Radiance Fields in 3D Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.17232/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Visual Question Answering (VQA) is a challenging task that requires systems to provide accurate answers to questions based on image content. Current VQA models struggle with complex questions due to limitations in capturing and integrating multimodal information effectively. To address these challenges, we propose the Rank VQA model, which leverages a ranking-inspired hybrid training strategy to enhance VQA performance. The Rank VQA model integrates high-quality visual features extracted using the Faster R-CNN model and rich semantic text features obtained from a pre-trained BERT model. These features are fused through a sophisticated multimodal fusion technique employing multi-head self-attention mechanisms. Additionally, a ranking learning module is incorporated to optimize the relative ranking of answers, thus improving answer accuracy. The hybrid training strategy combines classification and ranking losses, enhancing the model's generalization ability and robustness across diverse datasets. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the Rank VQA model. Our model significantly outperforms existing state-of-the-art models on standard VQA datasets, including VQA v2.0 and COCO-QA, in terms of both accuracy and Mean Reciprocal Rank (MRR). The superior performance of Rank VQA is evident in its ability to handle complex questions that require understanding nuanced details and making sophisticated inferences from the image and text. This work highlights the effectiveness of a ranking-based hybrid training strategy in improving VQA performance and lays the groundwork for further research in multimodal learning methods.