# DeformMaster: An Interactive Physics-Neural World Model for Deformable Objects from Videos

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.09586 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.09586/

## Key facts

- Cited by 2 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Latent predictive world models, one of 11 directions in World models.
- Builds on 32 of its 40 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 10 May 2026.

## Placed in

- World models / [Latent predictive world models](https://mlsanity.com/wm/latent-predictive-world-models/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 32)

- [PointNet: Deep Learning on Point Sets for 3D Classification and Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00593/) (2016)
- [CogVideoX: Text-to-Video Diffusion Models with An Expert Transformer](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.06072/) (2024)
- [SuperGlue: Learning Feature Matching with Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.11763/) (2019)
- [Learning to Simulate Complex Physics with Graph Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.09405/) (2020)
- [Structured 3D Latents for Scalable and Versatile 3D Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.01506/) (2024)
- [Depth Anything 3: Recovering the Visual Space from Any Views](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.10647/) (2025)
- [PhysGaussian: Physics-Integrated 3D Gaussians for Generative Dynamics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12198/) (2023)
- [SC-GS: Sparse-Controlled Gaussian Splatting for Editable Dynamic Scenes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.14937/) (2023)
- [MoGe-2: Accurate Monocular Geometry with Metric Scale and Sharp Details](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2507.02546/) (2025)
- [WonderWorld: Interactive 3D Scene Generation from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09394/) (2024)
- [PhysDreamer: Physics-Based Interaction with 3D Objects via Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.13026/) (2024)
- [Tora: Trajectory-oriented Diffusion Transformer for Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.21705/) (2024)
- [PAC-NeRF: Physics Augmented Continuum Neural Radiance Fields for Geometry-Agnostic System Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.05512/) (2023)
- [Reconstruction and Simulation of Elastic Objects with Spring-Mass 3D Gaussians](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.09434/) (2024)
- [PhysTwin: Physics-Informed Reconstruction and Simulation of Deformable Objects from Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.17973/) (2025)
- [OmniPhysGS: 3D Constitutive Gaussians for General Physics-Based Dynamics Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.18982/) (2025)
- [PhysGen3D: Crafting a Miniature Interactive World from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.20746/) (2025)
- [AdaptiGraph: Material-Adaptive Graph-Based Neural Dynamics for Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.07889/) (2024)
- [Force Prompting: Video Generation Models Can Learn and Generalize Physics-based Control Signals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.19386/) (2025)
- [GIC: Gaussian-Informed Continuum for Physical Property Identification and Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.14927/) (2024)
- [WonderPlay: Dynamic 3D Scene Generation from a Single Image and Actions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.18151/) (2025)
- [Dynamic 3D Gaussian Tracking for Graph-Based Neural Dynamics Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.18912/) (2024)
- [PhysFlow: Unleashing the Potential of Multi-modal Foundation Models and Video Diffusion for 4D Dynamic Physical Scene Simulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.14423/) (2024)
- [Efficient Physics Simulation for 3D Scenes via MLLM-Guided Gaussian Splatting](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.12789/) (2024)
- [Real-to-Sim Robot Policy Evaluation with Gaussian Splatting Simulation of Soft-Body Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.04665/) (2025)
- [Particle-Grid Neural Dynamics for Learning Deformable Object Models from RGB-D Videos](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.15680/) (2025)
- [RealWonder: Real-Time Physical Action-Conditioned Video Generation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.05449/) (2026)
- [PhysGM: Large Physical Gaussian Model for Feed-Forward 4D Synthesis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.13911/) (2025)
- [Goal Force: Teaching Video Models To Accomplish Physics-Conditioned Goals](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.05848/) (2026)
- [EMPM: Embodied MPM for Modeling and Simulation of Deformable Objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2601.17251/) (2026)

## Built on by (most cited first, 2 of 2)

- [PhysReal: Learning Real-World Deformable Object Physics via Hybrid Constitutive Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.07532/) (2026)
- [Counterfactual Action Evaluation, Observation Bottlenecks, and Representation Geometry in Joint-Embedding Predictive World Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.02860/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

World models for deformable objects should recover not only geometry and appearance, but also underlying physical dynamics, interaction grounding, and material behavior. Learning such a model from real videos is challenging because deformable linear, planar, and volumetric objects evolve under high-dimensional deformation, noisy interactions, and complex material response. The model must therefore infer a physical state from visual observations, roll it forward under new interactions, and render the resulting dynamics with high visual fidelity. We present DeformMaster, a video-derived interactive physics-neural world model that turns real interaction videos into an online interactive model of deformable objects within a unified dynamics-and-appearance framework. DeformMaster preserves structured physical rollout while using a neural residual to compensate for unmodeled effects, grounds sparse hand motion as distributed compliant actuator for hand-continuum interaction, represents material response with spatially varying constitutive experts, and drives high-fidelity 4D appearance from the predicted physical evolution. Experiments on real-world deformable-object sequences demonstrate DeformMaster's ability to roll out future dynamics and render dynamic appearance, outperforming state-of-the-art baselines while supporting novel action rollout, material-parameter variation, and dynamic novel-view synthesis. Project page: https://can-lee.github.io/deformmaster-web/