mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

ElasticFlow: One-Step Physics-Consistent Policy with Elastic Time Horizons for Language-Guided Manipulation

arXiv 2605.08799 ↗First posted 9 May 2026cs.ROcited by 0

On the map: Diffusion models → Diffusion and flow policies for robotics

Abstract (arXiv)

Diffusion policies have demonstrated exceptional performance in embodied AI. However, their iterative denoising process results in high latency, and existing acceleration methods often sacrifice physical consistency. To address this, we propose ElasticFlow, a distillation-free, physics-consistent one-step policy framework. We reconstruct the Mean Field Theory by directly modeling the average velocity field, enabling a direct single-step mapping from noise to action. Addressing the Temporal Heterogeneity of robotic tasks, we introduce the Elastic Time Horizons mechanism. This mechanism effectively overcomes Spectral Bias by explicitly encoding control granularity, achieving efficient alignment between semantic instructions and physical execution horizons. Experiments on benchmarks such as LIBERO, CALVIN, and RoboTwin demonstrate that ElasticFlow achieves efficient 1-NFE inference (approximately 71Hz). Furthermore, it outperforms state-of-the-art methods, including OpenVLA and π0, on long-horizon tasks, highlighting its potential for efficient, robust, and semantically aligned control.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Diffusion and flow policies for robotics, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models. Builds on 26 of its 34 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 9 May 2026.

Builds on

26 of 34 references.

Closest ancestors · 3

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2024VidMan: Exploiting Implicit Dynamics from Video Diffusion Model for Effective Robot Manipulation14 Nov
  2. 2024Consistency Policy: Accelerated Visuomotor Policies via Consistency Distillation13 May
  3. 2023Diffusion Policy: Visuomotor Policy Learning via Action Diffusion7 Mar

Other references · 23

  1. 2020Denoising Diffusion Implicit Modelscited by 9,781
  2. 2023RT-2: Vision-Language-Action Models Transfer Web Knowledge to Robotic Controlcited by 3,080
  3. 2023Learning Fine-Grained Bimanual Manipulation with Low-Cost Hardwarecited by 1,568
  4. 2024Octo: An Open-Source Generalist Robot Policycited by 1,484
  5. 2023LIBERO: Benchmarking Knowledge Transfer for Lifelong Robot Learningcited by 1,410
  6. 2025GR00T N1: An Open Foundation Model for Generalist Humanoid Robotscited by 1,225
  7. 2025Fine-Tuning Vision-Language-Action Models: Optimizing Speed and Successcited by 883
  8. 2021CALVIN: A Benchmark for Language-Conditioned Policy Learning for Long-Horizon Robot Manipulation Taskscited by 584
  9. 2025Mean Flows for One-step Generative Modelingcited by 561
  10. 2025UniVLA: Learning to Act Anywhere with Task-centric Latent Actionscited by 410
  11. 2023Unleashing Large-Scale Video Generative Pre-training for Visual Robot Manipulationcited by 364
  12. 2024TraceVLA: Visual Trace Prompting Enhances Spatial-Temporal Awareness for Generalist Robotic Policiescited by 304
11 more
  1. 2024Video Prediction Policy: A Generalist Robot Policy with Predictive Visual Representationscited by 289
  2. 2025DreamVLA: A Vision-Language-Action Model Dreamed with Comprehensive World Knowledgecited by 213
  3. 2025MemoryVLA: Perceptual-Cognitive Memory in Vision-Language-Action Models for Robotic Manipulationcited by 192
  4. 2024Predictive Inverse Dynamics Models are Scalable Learners for Robotic Manipulationcited by 161
  5. 2025ThinkAct: Vision-Language-Action Reasoning via Reinforced Visual Latent Planningcited by 156
  6. 2025Spatial Forcing: Implicit Spatial Representation Alignment for Vision-language-action Modelcited by 134
  7. 2025RoboTwin: Dual-Arm Robot Benchmark with Generative Digital Twinscited by 121
  8. 2025UP-VLA: A Unified Understanding and Prediction Model for Embodied Agentcited by 102
  9. 2024Closed-Loop Visuomotor Control with Generative Expectation for Robotic Manipulationcited by 53
  10. 2025HiF-VLA: Hindsight, Insight and Foresight through Motion Representation for Vision-Language-Action Modelscited by 32
  11. 2025Real-to-Sim Robot Policy Evaluation with Gaussian Splatting Simulation of Soft-Body Interactionscited by 30

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  1. 2026HybridFlow: A 2-NFE Generative Policy for Real-Time Robotic Manipulation
  2. 2025EfficientFlow: Efficient Equivariant Flow Policy Learning for Embodied AI
  3. 2026One-Step Flow Policy: Self-Distillation for Fast Visuomotor Policies
  4. 2026OGPO: One-Step Generative Policy Optimization for Real-Time Robot Control
  5. 2025OMP: One-step Meanflow Policy with Directional Alignment
  6. 2025MP1: MeanFlow Tames Policy Learning in 1-step for Robotic Manipulation
  7. 2026NarrativeFlow: Flow-Based Vision-Language-Action Model Using Robot Velocity Fields
  8. 2025ManiFlow: A General Robot Manipulation Policy via Consistency Flow Training