See&Trek: Training-Free Spatial Prompting for Multimodal Large Language Model
On the map: Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models → Embodied and 3D vision-language models
Abstract (arXiv)
We introduce SEE&TREK, the first training-free prompting framework tailored to enhance the spatial understanding of Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMS) under vision-only constraints. While prior efforts have incorporated modalities like depth or point clouds to improve spatial reasoning, purely visualspatial understanding remains underexplored. SEE&TREK addresses this gap by focusing on two core principles: increasing visual diversity and motion reconstruction. For visual diversity, we conduct Maximum Semantic Richness Sampling, which employs an off-the-shell perception model to extract semantically rich keyframes that capture scene structure. For motion reconstruction, we simulate visual trajectories and encode relative spatial positions into keyframes to preserve both spatial relations and temporal coherence. Our method is training&GPU-free, requiring only a single forward pass, and can be seamlessly integrated into existing MLLM'S. Extensive experiments on the VSI-B ENCH and STI-B ENCH show that S EE &T REK consistently boosts various MLLM S performance across diverse spatial reasoning tasks with the most +3.5% improvement, offering a promising path toward stronger spatial intelligence.
Key facts. Cited by 15 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 50 of its 62 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 19 Sep 2025.
Builds on
50 of 62 references.
Closest ancestors · 7
Same direction, newest first
- 2025STI-Bench: Are MLLMs Ready for Precise Spatial-Temporal World Understanding?31 Mar
- 2025CoT-VLA: Visual Chain-of-Thought Reasoning for Vision-Language-Action Models27 Mar
- 2025ST-VLM: Kinematic Instruction Tuning for Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in Vision-Language Models25 Mar
- 20253DAxisPrompt: Promoting the 3D Grounding and Reasoning in GPT-4o17 Mar
- 2025GPT4Scene: Understand 3D Scenes from Videos with Vision-Language Models2 Jan
- 2024Thinking in Space: How Multimodal Large Language Models See, Remember, and Recall Spaces18 Dec
- 2024SpatialRGPT: Grounded Spatial Reasoning in Vision Language Models3 Jun
Other references · 43
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- 2023Segment Anythingcited by 8,234
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- 2024Gemini 1.5: Unlocking multimodal understanding across millions of tokens of contextcited by 3,224
- 2017ScanNet: Richly-annotated 3D Reconstructions of Indoor Scenescited by 3,117
- 2024OpenVLA: An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Modelcited by 2,887
- 2024LLaVA-OneVision: Easy Visual Task Transfercited by 2,719
- 2019Scalability in Perception for Autonomous Driving: Waymo Open Datasetcited by 2,451
- 2025InternVL3: Exploring Advanced Training and Test-Time Recipes for Open-Source Multimodal Modelscited by 1,834
- 2015ORB-SLAM: a Versatile and Accurate Monocular SLAM Systemcited by 988
- 2020ORB-SLAM3: An Accurate Open-Source Library for Visual, Visual-Inertial and Multi-Map SLAMcited by 878
- 2023ScanNet++: A High-Fidelity Dataset of 3D Indoor Scenescited by 764
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- 2021ARKitScenes: A Diverse Real-World Dataset For 3D Indoor Scene Understanding Using Mobile RGB-D Datacited by 454
- 2025Kimi-VL Technical Reportcited by 388
- 2021ScanQA: 3D Question Answering for Spatial Scene Understandingcited by 346
- 2022SQA3D: Situated Question Answering in 3D Scenescited by 314
- 2023A Survey on Multimodal Large Language Models for Autonomous Drivingcited by 290
- 2024VideoTree: Adaptive Tree-based Video Representation for LLM Reasoning on Long Videoscited by 251
- 2025Video-MMMU: Evaluating Knowledge Acquisition from Multi-Discipline Professional Videoscited by 236
- 2025MLLMs Know Where to Look: Training-free Perception of Small Visual Details with Multimodal LLMscited by 176
- 2025Adaptive Keyframe Sampling for Long Video Understandingcited by 167
- 2024Video-RAG: Visually-aligned Retrieval-Augmented Long Video Comprehensioncited by 138
- 2025See What You Are Told: Visual Attention Sink in Large Multimodal Modelscited by 132
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- 2024MLLM can see? Dynamic Correction Decoding for Hallucination Mitigationcited by 88
- 2025M-LLM Based Video Frame Selection for Efficient Video Understandingcited by 88
- 2025VideoRAG: Retrieval-Augmented Generation with Extreme Long-Context Videoscited by 77
- 2024DrVideo: Document Retrieval Based Long Video Understandingcited by 65
- 2024Omni6DPose: A Benchmark and Model for Universal 6D Object Pose Estimation and Trackingcited by 50
- 2025Generative Frame Sampler for Long Video Understandingcited by 37
- 2025Logic-in-Frames: Dynamic Keyframe Search via Visual Semantic-Logical Verification for Long Video Understandingcited by 34
- 2024Attention Prompting on Image for Large Vision-Language Modelscited by 23
- 2025QuoTA: Query-oriented Token Assignment via CoT Query Decouple for Long Video Comprehensioncited by 21
- 2025Building a Mind Palace: Structuring Environment-Grounded Semantic Graphs for Effective Long Video Analysis with LLMscited by 19
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- 2025∞-Video: A Training-Free Approach to Long Video Understanding via Continuous-Time Memory Consolidationcited by 14
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- 2025Breaking the Encoder Barrier for Seamless Video-Language Understandingcited by 8
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Citing papers per year: 2025: 1; 2026: 14.
15 papers.
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- 2026Allocentric Perceiver: Disentangling Allocentric Reasoning from Egocentric Visual Priors via Frame Instantiationcited by 5
- 2026FocusGraph: Graph-Structured Frame Selection for Embodied Long Video Question Answeringcited by 3
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- 2026Trace, Verify, and Correct: A Training-Free Framework for Spatial Reasoning in Multimodal LLMs5 Aug 2026
- 2026Geo3R: Mitigating Spatial Reasoning Hallucination in Multimodal Large Language Models23 Jul 2026
- 2026DynTrace: Tracking Dynamic Object Evidence for 4D Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in MLLMs14 Jul 2026
- 2026SpatialSV: Internalizing Interpretable 3D Spatial Awareness in MLLMs via Task-Oriented Visual Supervision18 Jun 2026
- 2026Reason, Then Re-reason: Cross-view Revisiting Improves Spatial Reasoning10 Jun 2026
- 2026Training-Free Dense Hand Contact Estimation with Multi-Modal Large Language Models7 May 2026
- 2026Token Warping Helps MLLMs Look from Nearby Viewpoints3 Apr 2026
- 2026EgoMind: Activating Spatial Cognition through Linguistic Reasoning in MLLMs1 Apr 2026
3 more
- 2026FocusGraph: Graph-Structured Frame Selection for Embodied Long Video Question Answering4 Mar 2026
- 2026Allocentric Perceiver: Disentangling Allocentric Reasoning from Egocentric Visual Priors via Frame Instantiation5 Feb 2026
- 20254D-RGPT: Toward Region-level 4D Understanding via Perceptual Distillation18 Dec 2025
- 2026Allocentric Perceiver: Disentangling Allocentric Reasoning from Egocentric Visual Priors via Frame Instantiationcited by 5
- 2026EgoMind: Activating Spatial Cognition through Linguistic Reasoning in MLLMscited by 3
- 2026Reason, Then Re-reason: Cross-view Revisiting Improves Spatial Reasoningcited by 2
- 2026DynTrace: Tracking Dynamic Object Evidence for 4D Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in MLLMscited by 2
- 2026Geo3R: Mitigating Spatial Reasoning Hallucination in Multimodal Large Language Modelscited by 0
- 2026Trace, Verify, and Correct: A Training-Free Framework for Spatial Reasoning in Multimodal LLMscited by 0
- 2026From Reasoning Failures to Composable Video Spatial Intelligencecited by 0
- 2026ReTAC: Residual Test-Time Agentic Computation for Video Spatial Reasoningcited by 0
- 2026ReTAC: Residual Test-Time Agentic Computation for Video Spatial Reasoning12 Oct 2026
- 2026From Reasoning Failures to Composable Video Spatial Intelligence1 Oct 2026
- 2026Trace, Verify, and Correct: A Training-Free Framework for Spatial Reasoning in Multimodal LLMs5 Aug 2026
- 2026Geo3R: Mitigating Spatial Reasoning Hallucination in Multimodal Large Language Models23 Jul 2026
- 2026DynTrace: Tracking Dynamic Object Evidence for 4D Spatio-Temporal Reasoning in MLLMs14 Jul 2026
- 2026Reason, Then Re-reason: Cross-view Revisiting Improves Spatial Reasoning10 Jun 2026
- 2026EgoMind: Activating Spatial Cognition through Linguistic Reasoning in MLLMs1 Apr 2026
- 2026Allocentric Perceiver: Disentangling Allocentric Reasoning from Egocentric Visual Priors via Frame Instantiation5 Feb 2026
- 20254D-RGPT: Toward Region-level 4D Understanding via Perceptual Distillationcited by 2
- 2026Training-Free Dense Hand Contact Estimation with Multi-Modal Large Language Modelscited by 1
- 2026Token Warping Helps MLLMs Look from Nearby Viewpointscited by 0
- 2026SpatialSV: Internalizing Interpretable 3D Spatial Awareness in MLLMs via Task-Oriented Visual Supervisioncited by 0
- 2026SpatialSV: Internalizing Interpretable 3D Spatial Awareness in MLLMs via Task-Oriented Visual Supervision18 Jun 2026
- 2026Training-Free Dense Hand Contact Estimation with Multi-Modal Large Language Models7 May 2026
- 2026Token Warping Helps MLLMs Look from Nearby Viewpoints3 Apr 2026
- 20254D-RGPT: Toward Region-level 4D Understanding via Perceptual Distillation18 Dec 2025
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