# Retrieval-grounded robot program generation and simulation-based correction via Model Context Protocol

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.21417 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.21417/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in Multimodal and embodied agents, one of 16 directions in LLM agents and tool use.
- Builds on 8 of its 16 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Aug 2026.

## Placed in

- LLM agents and tool use / [Multimodal and embodied agents](https://mlsanity.com/agents/multimodal-and-embodied-agents/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 8 of 8)

- [Retrieval-Augmented Generation for Knowledge-Intensive NLP Tasks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11401/) (2020)
- [ReAct: Synergizing Reasoning and Acting in Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.03629/) (2022)
- [Code as Policies: Language Model Programs for Embodied Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2209.07753/) (2022)
- [Precise Zero-Shot Dense Retrieval without Relevance Labels](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2212.10496/) (2022)
- [ChatGPT for Robotics: Design Principles and Model Abilities](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.17582/) (2023)
- [Agentic Retrieval-Augmented Generation: A Survey on Agentic RAG](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.09136/) (2025)
- [LLM Hallucinations in Practical Code Generation: Phenomena, Mechanism, and Mitigation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.20550/) (2024)
- [Direct off-line robot programming via a common CAD package](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1309.2078/) (2013)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Flexible manufacturing requires industrial robots to be reprogrammed rapidly as product variants change. This paper presents a language-model-based workflow that generates, validates, and iteratively corrects ABB RAPID robot programs from natural language task descriptions. A dual-stream retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipeline grounds code generation in verified technical documentation and production templates, reducing domain-specific errors produced by ungrounded language models. A custom Model Context Protocol (MCP) server connects the language-model client directly to ABB RobotStudio for automated code upload, simulation execution, and diagnostic feedback. The evaluation combines a 30-query retrieval benchmark, scoped code-generation checks, and RobotStudio case studies in a simulated pickand- place manufacturing cell. The simulation loop exposes execution failures that static and semantic checks alone cannot catch, including suction release-height errors, unreachable placement targets, and configuration-dependent recovery motions. The results show how RAG and MCP can connect grounded code generation with executable feedback from industrial robot simulation software, while reducing but not eliminating expert setup and final supervision.