# ForceFlow: Learning to Feel and Act via Contact-Driven Flow Matching

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.11048 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.11048/

## Key facts

- Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Diffusion and flow policies for robotics, one of 14 directions in Diffusion models.
- Builds on 24 of its 27 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 11 May 2026.

## Placed in

- Diffusion models / [Diffusion and flow policies for robotics](https://mlsanity.com/diffusion/diffusion-and-flow-policies-for-robotics/)
- Offline RL and imitation learning from data / [Robot manipulation imitation learning](https://mlsanity.com/offlinerl/robot-manipulation-imitation-learning/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [Scalable Diffusion Models with Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.09748/) (2022)
- [Flow Matching for Generative Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.02747/) (2022)
- [OpenVLA: An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09246/) (2024)
- [Diffusion Policy: Visuomotor Policy Learning via Action Diffusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.04137/) (2023)
- [π0.5: a Vision-Language-Action Model with Open-World Generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.16054/) (2025)
- [Learning Fine-Grained Bimanual Manipulation with Low-Cost Hardware](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.13705/) (2023)
- [GR00T N1: An Open Foundation Model for Generalist Humanoid Robots](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.14734/) (2025)
- [An Algorithmic Perspective on Imitation Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.06711/) (2018)
- [What Makes Training Multi-Modal Classification Networks Hard?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1905.12681/) (2019)
- [Reactive Diffusion Policy: Slow-Fast Visual-Tactile Policy Learning for Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.02881/) (2025)
- [Characterizing and overcoming the greedy nature of learning in multi-modal deep neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05306/) (2022)
- [ForceVLA: Enhancing VLA Models with a Force-aware MoE for Contact-rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.22159/) (2025)
- [TLA: Tactile-Language-Action Model for Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.08548/) (2025)
- [CleanDiffuser: An Easy-to-use Modularized Library for Diffusion Models in Decision Making](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09509/) (2024)
- [OmniVTLA: Vision-Tactile-Language-Action Models with Semantic-Aligned Tactile Sensing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.08706/) (2025)
- [Embodied-R1: Reinforced Embodied Reasoning for General Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.13998/) (2025)
- [ForceMimic: Force-Centric Imitation Learning with Force-Motion Capture System for Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.07554/) (2024)
- [FoAR: Force-Aware Reactive Policy for Contact-Rich Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.15753/) (2024)
- [TacDiffusion: Force-domain Diffusion Policy for Precise Tactile Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11047/) (2024)
- [ForceVLA2: Unleashing Hybrid Force-Position Control with Force Awareness for Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.15169/) (2026)
- [FD-VLA: Force-Distilled Vision-Language-Action Model for Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2602.02142/) (2026)
- [Touch begins where vision ends: Generalizable policies for contact-rich manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.13762/) (2025)
- [Conditioning Matters: Training Diffusion Policies is Faster Than You Think](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.11123/) (2025)
- [Feel the Force: Contact-Driven Learning from Humans](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01944/) (2025)

## Built on by (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [Embodied-R1.5: Evolving Physical Intelligence via Embodied Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.11324/) (2026)
- [FM-VLA: Force-based Memory for Vision-Language-Action Models in Contact-Rich Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.18231/) (2026)
- [τ: Learning Touch-Augmented Vision-Language-Action Models from Future Visual Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.24485/) (2026)
- [Facet-0: A Robotic Foundation Model for Contact-Rich Precise Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.01596/) (2026)
- [ForceRFT: Refining VLA Actions through Force-Guided Residual Reinforcement Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.22840/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Existing imitation learning methods enable robots to interact autonomously with the physical environment. However, contact-rich manipulation tasks remain a significant challenge due to complex contact dynamics that demand high-precision force feedback and control. Although recent efforts have attempted to integrate force/torque sensing into policies, how to build a simple yet effective framework that achieves robust generalization under multimodal observations remains an open question. In this paper, we propose ForceFlow, a force-aware reactive framework built upon flow matching. For contact-stage policy design, we investigate force signal fusion mechanisms and adopt an asymmetric multimodal fusion architecture that treats force as a global regulatory signal, combined with a joint prediction paradigm that enhances the policy's understanding of instantaneous force and historical information, thereby achieving deep coupling between force and motion. For task-level hierarchical decomposition, we divide manipulation into a vision-dominant approach stage (VLM-based pointing for target localization) and a touch-dominant interaction stage (force-driven contact execution), with a Vision-to-Force (V2F) handover mechanism that explicitly decouples spatial generalization from contact regulation. Experimental results across six real-world contact-rich tasks demonstrate that ForceFlow achieves a 37% success rate improvement over the strong baseline ForceVLA while maintaining significantly lower cost. Moreover, ForceFlow exhibits accurate force signal prediction and demonstrates superior performance in contact force self-regulation and zero-shot out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization.