Libra-VLA: Achieving Learning Equilibrium via Asynchronous Coarse-to-Fine Dual-System
On the map: Vision-language-action models → Efficient VLA inference and adaptation
Abstract (arXiv)
Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models are a promising paradigm for generalist robotic manipulation by grounding high-level semantic instructions into executable physical actions. However, prevailing approaches typically adopt a monolithic generation paradigm, directly mapping visual-linguistic features to high-frequency motor commands in a flat, non-hierarchical fashion. This strategy overlooks the inherent hierarchy of robotic manipulation, where complex actions can be naturally modeled in a Hybrid Action Space, decomposing into discrete macro-directional reaching and continuous micro-pose alignment, severely widening the semantic-actuation gap and imposing a heavy representational burden on grounding high-level semantics to continuous actions. To address this, we introduce Libra-VLA, a novel Coarse-to-Fine Dual-System VLA architecture. We explicitly decouple the learning complexity into a coarse-to-fine hierarchy to strike a training equilibrium, while simultaneously leveraging this structural modularity to implement an asynchronous execution strategy. The Semantic Planner predicts discrete action tokens capturing macro-directional intent, while the Action Refiner conditions on coarse intent to generate high-frequency continuous actions for precise alignment. Crucially, our empirical analysis reveals that performance follows an inverted-U curve relative to action decomposition granularity, peaking exactly when the learning difficulty is balanced between the two sub-systems. With the asynchronous design, our approach offers a scalable, robust, and responsive solution for open-world manipulation.
Key facts. Cited by 6 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Efficient VLA inference and adaptation, one of 13 directions in Vision-language-action models. Builds on 19 of its 26 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 27 Apr 2026.
Builds on
19 of 26 references.
Closest ancestors · 2
Same direction, newest first
- 2025Discrete Diffusion VLA: Bringing Discrete Diffusion to Action Decoding in Vision-Language-Action Policies27 Aug
- 2025HybridVLA: Collaborative Diffusion and Autoregression in a Unified Vision-Language-Action Model13 Mar
Other references · 17
- 2023Sigmoid Loss for Language Image Pre-Trainingcited by 3,048
- 2024Octo: An Open-Source Generalist Robot Policycited by 1,427
- 2023LIBERO: Benchmarking Knowledge Transfer for Lifelong Robot Learningcited by 1,338
- 2025GR00T N1: An Open Foundation Model for Generalist Humanoid Robotscited by 1,167
- 2025Fine-Tuning Vision-Language-Action Models: Optimizing Speed and Successcited by 844
- 2025UniVLA: Learning to Act Anywhere with Task-centric Latent Actionscited by 386
- 2025WorldVLA: Towards Autoregressive Action World Modelcited by 351
- 2025Hi Robot: Open-Ended Instruction Following with Hierarchical Vision-Language-Action Modelscited by 216
- 2025DreamVLA: A Vision-Language-Action Model Dreamed with Comprehensive World Knowledgecited by 203
- 2023Look Before You Leap: Unveiling the Power of GPT-4V in Robotic Vision-Language Planningcited by 161
- 2019Language as an Abstraction for Hierarchical Deep Reinforcement Learningcited by 138
- 2025Genie Envisioner: A Unified World Foundation Platform for Robotic Manipulationcited by 129
5 more
- 2024MOKA: Open-World Robotic Manipulation through Mark-Based Visual Promptingcited by 126
- 2025HAMSTER: Hierarchical Action Models For Open-World Robot Manipulationcited by 125
- 2025F1: A Vision-Language-Action Model Bridging Understanding and Generation to Actionscited by 85
- 2025OpenHelix: A Short Survey, Empirical Analysis, and Open-Source Dual-System VLA Model for Robotic Manipulationcited by 79
- 2025How Do VLAs Effectively Inherit from VLMs?cited by 6
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2026: 6.
6 papers.
- 2026Spatially Prompted Visual Trajectory Prediction for Egocentric Manipulationcited by 1
- 2026EgoRecovery: Acquiring Failure Recovery Ability Through Human Recovery Demonstrationcited by 0
- 2026PonderPounce: A Pretrained MLLM as an Episode Context Engine for Robot Controlcited by 0
- 2026UniMPA: A Unified Memory-Prediction-Action Model via Action-Grounded Transition Modelingcited by 0
- 2026LLMs are General Asynchronous Agentscited by 0
- 2026Discrete Forcing: Infusing Discrete Guidance into Continuous Denoising for Few-Step Action Expertscited by 0
- 2026Discrete Forcing: Infusing Discrete Guidance into Continuous Denoising for Few-Step Action Experts30 Sep 2026
- 2026LLMs are General Asynchronous Agents28 Sep 2026
- 2026UniMPA: A Unified Memory-Prediction-Action Model via Action-Grounded Transition Modeling10 Sep 2026
- 2026PonderPounce: A Pretrained MLLM as an Episode Context Engine for Robot Control25 Aug 2026
- 2026EgoRecovery: Acquiring Failure Recovery Ability Through Human Recovery Demonstration22 Jul 2026
- 2026Spatially Prompted Visual Trajectory Prediction for Egocentric Manipulation19 May 2026
Similar, not cited
Close in wording, no citation either way
- 2026NebulaVLA: A Dual-Frequency Vision-Language-Action Model With Guide Action for Robotic Manipulation
- 2025Asynchronous Fast-Slow Vision-Language-Action Policies for Whole-Body Robotic Manipulation
- 2026H-VLA: Hierarchical Vision-Language-Action Model with Key-Action Reasoning and Motion Planning in a Unified Action Space
- 2026Co-VLA: Coordination-Aware Structured Action Modeling for Dual-Arm Vision-Language-Action Systems
- 2026ActionUNet: Improving Robustness of VLA Models with Efficient Multi-scale Fine-tuning
- 2025E0: Enhancing Generalization and Fine-Grained Control in VLA Models via Tweedie Discrete Diffusion
- 2025ManualVLA: A Unified VLA Model for Chain-of-Thought Manual Generation and Robotic Manipulation
- 2024CogACT: A Foundational Vision-Language-Action Model for Synergizing Cognition and Action in Robotic Manipulation