# LiloDriver: A Lifelong Learning Framework for Closed-loop Motion Planning in Long-tail Autonomous Driving Scenarios

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.17209 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.17209/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Large language models for driving, one of 9 directions in End-to-end autonomous driving.
- Builds on 27 of its 30 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 22 May 2025.

## Placed in

- End-to-end autonomous driving / [Large language models for driving](https://mlsanity.com/driving/large-language-models-for-driving/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 27 of 27)

- [NuPlan: A closed-loop ML-based planning benchmark for autonomous vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.11810/) (2021)
- [End-to-end Autonomous Driving: Challenges and Frontiers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.16927/) (2023)
- [LMDrive: Closed-Loop End-to-End Driving with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07488/) (2023)
- [A Survey on Multimodal Large Language Models for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12320/) (2023)
- [Parting with Misconceptions about Learning-based Vehicle Motion Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.07962/) (2023)
- [DriveMLM: Aligning Multi-Modal Large Language Models with Behavioral Planning States for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.09245/) (2023)
- [DiLu: A Knowledge-Driven Approach to Autonomous Driving with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.16292/) (2023)
- [Rethinking the Open-Loop Evaluation of End-to-End Autonomous Driving in nuScenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10430/) (2023)
- [LanguageMPC: Large Language Models as Decision Makers for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.03026/) (2023)
- [GameFormer: Game-theoretic Modeling and Learning of Transformer-based Interactive Prediction and Planning for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05760/) (2023)
- [LLM4Drive: A Survey of Large Language Models for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01043/) (2023)
- [Vision Language Models in Autonomous Driving: A Survey and Outlook](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.14414/) (2023)
- [Urban Driver: Learning to Drive from Real-world Demonstrations Using Policy Gradients](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13333/) (2021)
- [Motion Planning for Autonomous Driving: The State of the Art and Future Perspectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.09824/) (2023)
- [Baidu Apollo EM Motion Planner](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.08048/) (2018)
- [LLM-Assist: Enhancing Closed-Loop Planning with Language-Based Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.00125/) (2023)
- [DTPP: Differentiable Joint Conditional Prediction and Cost Evaluation for Tree Policy Planning in Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.05885/) (2023)
- [From Prediction to Planning With Goal Conditioned Lane Graph Traversals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.07753/) (2023)
- [Can Vehicle Motion Planning Generalize to Realistic Long-tail Scenarios?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.07569/) (2024)
- [PlanAgent: A Multi-modal Large Language Agent for Closed-loop Vehicle Motion Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.01587/) (2024)
- [The Integration of Prediction and Planning in Deep Learning Automated Driving Systems: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.05731/) (2023)
- [Rethinking Imitation-based Planner for Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.10443/) (2023)
- [SurrealDriver: Designing LLM-powered Generative Driver Agent Framework based on Human Drivers' Driving-thinking Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.13193/) (2023)
- [Forging Vision Foundation Models for Autonomous Driving: Challenges, Methodologies, and Opportunities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.08045/) (2024)
- [CoMAL: Collaborative Multi-Agent Large Language Models for Mixed-Autonomy Traffic](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.14368/) (2024)
- [LMM-enhanced Safety-Critical Scenario Generation for Autonomous Driving System Testing From Non-Accident Traffic Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.10857/) (2024)
- [Generative AI in Transportation Planning: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.07158/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Vision-Language-Action Models for Autonomous Driving: Past, Present, and Future](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.16760/) (2025)
- [SEAL: Vision-Language Model-Based Safe End-to-End Cooperative Autonomous Driving with Adaptive Long-Tail Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.21041/) (2025)
- [Instructional Agents: Reducing Teaching Faculty Workload through Multi-Agent Instructional Design](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.19611/) (2025)
- [Deconfounded Lifelong Learning for Autonomous Driving via Dynamic Knowledge Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.14354/) (2026)
- [MASkills: Continual Skills Optimization for Multi-Agent LLM Systems](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.02094/) (2026)
- [Information-Directed Offline-to-Online Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.29405/) (2026)
- [Vision-Language-Action Autonomous Driving Agent with Language-based Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.38641/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Recent advances in autonomous driving research towards motion planners that are robust, safe, and adaptive. However, existing rule-based and data-driven planners lack adaptability to long-tail scenarios, while knowledge-driven methods offer strong reasoning but face challenges in representation, control, and real-world evaluation. To address these challenges, we present LiloDriver, a lifelong learning framework for closed-loop motion planning in long-tail autonomous driving scenarios. By integrating large language models (LLMs) with a memory-augmented planner generation system, LiloDriver continuously adapts to new scenarios without retraining. It features a four-stage architecture including perception, scene encoding, memory-based strategy refinement, and LLM-guided reasoning. Evaluated on the nuPlan benchmark, LiloDriver achieves superior performance in both common and rare driving scenarios, outperforming static rule-based and learning-based planners. Our results highlight the effectiveness of combining structured memory and LLM reasoning to enable scalable, human-like motion planning in real-world autonomous driving. Our code is available at https://github.com/Hyan-Yao/LiloDriver.