# Cross-Domain Demo-to-Code via Neurosymbolic Counterfactual Reasoning

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.18495 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.18495/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Spatial and embodied reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning.
- Builds on 59 of its 70 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 19 Mar 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM reasoning / [Spatial and embodied reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/lr/spatial-and-embodied-reasoning/)
- Multimodal LLMs / vision-language models / [Embodied and 3D vision-language models](https://mlsanity.com/mllm/embodied-and-3d-vision-language-models/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 59)

- [Do As I Can, Not As I Say: Grounding Language in Robotic Affordances](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2204.01691/) (2022)
- [PaLM-E: An Embodied Multimodal Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.03378/) (2023)
- [Code as Policies: Language Model Programs for Embodied Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.07753/) (2022)
- [Inner Monologue: Embodied Reasoning through Planning with Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.05608/) (2022)
- [ALFRED: A Benchmark for Interpreting Grounded Instructions for Everyday Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1912.01734/) (2019)
- [VoxPoser: Composable 3D Value Maps for Robotic Manipulation with Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.05973/) (2023)
- [Learning Complex Dexterous Manipulation with Deep Reinforcement Learning and Demonstrations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1709.10087/) (2017)
- [BC-Z: Zero-Shot Task Generalization with Robotic Imitation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.02005/) (2022)
- [LLM+P: Empowering Large Language Models with Optimal Planning Proficiency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11477/) (2023)
- [LLM-Planner: Few-Shot Grounded Planning for Embodied Agents with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.04088/) (2022)
- [VIMA: General Robot Manipulation with Multimodal Prompts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03094/) (2022)
- [Logic-LM: Empowering Large Language Models with Symbolic Solvers for Faithful Logical Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.12295/) (2023)
- [ChatGPT for Robotics: Design Principles and Model Abilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.17582/) (2023)
- [RoboGen: Towards Unleashing Infinite Data for Automated Robot Learning via Generative Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.01455/) (2023)
- [Leveraging Pre-trained Large Language Models to Construct and Utilize World Models for Model-based Task Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.14909/) (2023)
- [DexMV: Imitation Learning for Dexterous Manipulation from Human Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.05877/) (2021)
- [LINC: A Neurosymbolic Approach for Logical Reasoning by Combining Language Models with First-Order Logic Provers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.15164/) (2023)
- [Imitation from Observation: Learning to Imitate Behaviors from Raw Video via Context Translation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1707.03374/) (2017)
- [One-Shot Imitation from Observing Humans via Domain-Adaptive Meta-Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.01557/) (2018)
- [Generalized Planning in PDDL Domains with Pretrained Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.11014/) (2023)
- [GenSim: Generating Robotic Simulation Tasks via Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01361/) (2023)
- [Instruct2Act: Mapping Multi-modality Instructions to Robotic Actions with Large Language Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.11176/) (2023)
- [Multi-shot ASP solving with clingo](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.09811/) (2017)
- [Visual Imitation Made Easy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.04899/) (2020)
- [WorldCoder, a Model-Based LLM Agent: Building World Models by Writing Code and Interacting with the Environment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12275/) (2024)
- [GPT-4V(ision) for Robotics: Multimodal Task Planning from Human Demonstration](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12015/) (2023)
- [MoReVQA: Exploring Modular Reasoning Models for Video Question Answering](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.06511/) (2024)
- [Embodied Multi-Modal Agent trained by an LLM from a Parallel TextWorld](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16714/) (2023)
- [Coupling Large Language Models with Logic Programming for Robust and General Reasoning from Text](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07696/) (2023)
- [Critic-V: VLM Critics Help Catch VLM Errors in Multimodal Reasoning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.18203/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Recent advances in Vision-Language Models (VLMs) have enabled video-instructed robotic programming, allowing agents to interpret video demonstrations and generate executable control code. We formulate video-instructed robotic programming as a cross-domain adaptation problem, where perceptual and physical differences between demonstration and deployment induce procedural mismatches. However, current VLMs lack the procedural understanding needed to reformulate causal dependencies and achieve task-compatible behavior under such domain shifts. We introduce NeSyCR, a neurosymbolic counterfactual reasoning framework that enables verifiable adaptation of task procedures, providing a reliable synthesis of code policies. NeSyCR abstracts video demonstrations into symbolic trajectories that capture the underlying task procedure. Given deployment observations, it derives counterfactual states that reveal cross-domain incompatibilities. By exploring the symbolic state space with verifiable checks, NeSyCR proposes procedural revisions that restore compatibility with the demonstrated procedure. NeSyCR achieves a 31.14% improvement in task success over the strongest baseline Statler, showing robust cross-domain adaptation across both simulated and real-world manipulation tasks.