mlsanityData to 7 Oct 2026

QQWorld: Quantile-Quantile Matching for World Model Regularization

arXiv 2607.28415 ↗First posted 30 Jul 2026cs.LG cs.AI cs.CVcited by 5

On the map: World models → Latent predictive world models

Abstract (arXiv)

Latent world models enable efficient planning by predicting future states in a compact representation space, but their performance depends critically on the quality of the learned latent distribution. LeWorldModel (LeWM) regularizes its latents toward an isotropic Gaussian using the Epps-Pulley (EP) objective. We show that the corrective gradients of EP rapidly vanish for isolated tail samples, leaving heavy-tailed deviations insufficiently controlled. To address this limitation, we propose QQWorld, which replaces EP with a quantile-quantile matching objective that directly aligns projected latent samples with rank-matched Gaussian quantiles, thereby maintaining effective corrective gradients in the tails. We further develop cross-batch QQ, which enlarges the effective ranking pool using detached samples from previous batches, and characterize its bias-variance trade-off. Across four control environments, QQWorld effectively improves the average planning success rate of LeWM, while consistently yielding better Gaussian alignment and thinner latent tails.

Key facts. Cited by 5 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Latent predictive world models, one of 11 directions in World models. Builds on 25 of its 35 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 30 Jul 2026.

Builds on

25 of 35 references.

Closest ancestors · 12

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2026A Generalization Theory for JEPA-Based World Models25 Jun
  2. 2026Sensorimotor World Models: Perception for Action via Inverse Dynamics18 Jun
  3. 2026FF-JEPA: Long-Horizon Planning in World Models with Latent Planners8 Jun
  4. 2026IMWM: Intuition Models Complement World Models for Latent Planning1 Jun
  5. 2026Subspace-Decomposed JEPAs: Disentangling Progression and Content in Latent World Models29 May
  6. 2026Sub-JEPA: Subspace Gaussian Regularization for Stable End-to-End World Models10 May
  7. 2026Latent Geometry Beyond Search: Amortizing Planning in World Models9 May
  8. 2026Hierarchical Planning with Latent World Models3 Apr
  9. 2026LeWorldModel: Stable End-to-End Joint-Embedding Predictive Architecture from Pixels13 Mar
  10. 2026Interpreting Physics in Video World Models4 Feb
  11. 2024DINO-WM: World Models on Pre-trained Visual Features enable Zero-shot Planning7 Nov
  12. 2018Learning Latent Dynamics for Planning from Pixels12 Nov

Other references · 13

  1. 2019Dream to Control: Learning Behaviors by Latent Imaginationcited by 1,598
  2. 2021VICReg: Variance-Invariance-Covariance Regularization for Self-Supervised Learningcited by 1,013
  3. 2018DeepMind Control Suitecited by 935
  4. 2025V-JEPA 2: Self-Supervised Video Models Enable Understanding, Prediction and Planningcited by 738
  5. 2025LeJEPA: Provable and Scalable Self-Supervised Learning Without the Heuristicscited by 227
  6. 2024OGBench: Benchmarking Offline Goal-Conditioned RLcited by 216
  7. 2015On Wasserstein Two Sample Testing and Related Families of Nonparametric Testscited by 165
  8. 2025Learning from Reward-Free Offline Data: A Case for Planning with Latent Dynamics Modelscited by 77
  9. 2026LaWAM: Latent World Action Models for Efficient Dynamics-Aware Robot Policiescited by 46
  10. 2022Statistical, Robustness, and Computational Guarantees for Sliced Wasserstein Distancescited by 41
  11. 2020A Two-Sample Conditional Distribution Test Using Conformal Prediction and Weighted Rank Sumcited by 18
  12. 2026VISReg: Variance-Invariance-Sketching Regularization for JEPA trainingcited by 14
1 more
  1. 2019Closed-form Expressions for Maximum Mean Discrepancy with Applications to Wasserstein Auto-Encoderscited by 11

Built on by

Cited by year (2026 to 7 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2026: 5.

5 papers.

Similar, not cited

Close in wording, no citation either way

  1. 2026One-Sided Quantile Coupling for Flow Matching
  2. 2026An Empirical Study of World Model Quantization
  3. 2025Quantile Q-Learning: Revisiting Offline Extreme Q-Learning with Quantile Regression
  4. 2026Beyond Straightness: Non-Crossing Flow Matching via Quantile AlignTree Coupling
  5. 2026ATLAS: Aligned Transport of Latent Structure for Reliable World Model Planning
  6. 2026VIScore: Diagnosing Planning-Relevant Quality in Latent World Models
  7. 2026Beyond the Next Step: Variable-Length Latent World Models for Long-Horizon Planning
  8. 2024Towards Unraveling and Improving Generalization in World Models