# A Comprehensive Study of Implementation Bugs in Multi-modal Agents

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.04974 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.04974/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Software engineering coding agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 39 of its 60 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 6 Jul 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Software engineering coding agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/software-engineering-coding-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 39)

- [OpenHands: An Open Platform for AI Software Developers as Generalist Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.16741/) (2024)
- [Visual ChatGPT: Talking, Drawing and Editing with Visual Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.04671/) (2023)
- [Why Do Multi-Agent LLM Systems Fail?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.13657/) (2025)
- [Agentless: Demystifying LLM-based Software Engineering Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.01489/) (2024)
- [AppAgent: Multimodal Agents as Smartphone Users](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13771/) (2023)
- [Describe, Explain, Plan and Select: Interactive Planning with Large Language Models Enables Open-World Multi-Task Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2302.01560/) (2023)
- [GPT-Driver: Learning to Drive with GPT](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.01415/) (2023)
- [AutoCodeRover: Autonomous Program Improvement](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.05427/) (2024)
- [You Only Look at Screens: Multimodal Chain-of-Action Agents](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.11436/) (2023)
- [JARVIS-1: Open-World Multi-task Agents with Memory-Augmented Multimodal Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.05997/) (2023)
- [Drive Like a Human: Rethinking Autonomous Driving with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.07162/) (2023)
- [GPT-4V in Wonderland: Large Multimodal Models for Zero-Shot Smartphone GUI Navigation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.07562/) (2023)
- [GenArtist: Multimodal LLM as an Agent for Unified Image Generation and Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.05600/) (2024)
- [Where LLM Agents Fail and How They can Learn From Failures](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.25370/) (2025)
- [Agentic Reasoning: A Streamlined Framework for Enhancing LLM Reasoning with Agentic Tools](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.04644/) (2025)
- [Understanding Software Engineering Agents: A Study of Thought-Action-Result Trajectories](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.18824/) (2025)
- [On the Road with GPT-4V(ision): Early Explorations of Visual-Language Model on Autonomous Driving](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.05332/) (2023)
- [Octopus: Embodied Vision-Language Programmer from Environmental Feedback](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.08588/) (2023)
- [MP5: A Multi-modal Open-ended Embodied System in Minecraft via Active Perception](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.07472/) (2023)
- [Embodied Multi-Modal Agent trained by an LLM from a Parallel TextWorld](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.16714/) (2023)
- [Explore, Select, Derive, and Recall: Augmenting LLM with Human-like Memory for Mobile Task Automation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.03003/) (2023)
- [See and Think: Embodied Agent in Virtual Environment](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.15209/) (2023)
- [DroidBot-GPT: GPT-powered UI Automation for Android](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07061/) (2023)
- [LLaVA-Interactive: An All-in-One Demo for Image Chat, Segmentation, Generation and Editing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.00571/) (2023)
- [ASSISTGUI: Task-Oriented Desktop Graphical User Interface Automation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.13108/) (2023)
- [Interactive Agents: Simulating Counselor-Client Psychological Counseling via Role-Playing LLM-to-LLM Interactions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.15787/) (2024)
- [CityNavAgent: Aerial Vision-and-Language Navigation with Hierarchical Semantic Planning and Global Memory](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.05622/) (2025)
- [WavJourney: Compositional Audio Creation with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.14335/) (2023)
- [MusicAgent: An AI Agent for Music Understanding and Generation with Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.11954/) (2023)
- [Exploring Autonomous Agents: A Closer Look at Why They Fail When Completing Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.13143/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Multi-Modal Agents (M-agents), empowered by Large Language Models (LLMs), excel in various complex, open-world scenarios such as autonomous driving and robotics. However, their unique requirements to interact with dynamic and diverse multi-modal environments introduce novel implementation challenges beyond those faced by traditional agents. Outdated perception, untrustworthy planning and inapplicable execution could cause traffic accident and financial loss. Despite growing study on agent issues, there has not been a systematic study focusing on M-agent-specific implementation bugs. To address this gap, we conducted the first systematic study of implementation bugs in M-agents. We collected 34 representative M-agents from diverse sources and, through meticulous filtering,identified 158 M-agent-specific bugs from 1,268 issue reports. Using a top-down strategy, we developed a comprehensive taxonomy that classifies bugs by global symptoms, functionality component-level symptoms, and root causes. We then implemented MATester, an automatic proof-of-concept bug identifier by analyzing runtime inter-component outputs. When applied to 12 extra M-agents, MATester successfully covered 61.4% of known open issues and discovered 31 additional bugs, demonstrating the practical usefulness of our study. Our work provides a comprehensive reference and guideline for classification, prevention and fix of M-agent bugs.