mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Test-Time Spatial Reasoning for Robot Manipulation Using Generative Real-to-Sim

arXiv 2609.33982 ↗First posted 27 Sep 2026cs.RO cs.CVcited by 0

On the map: LLM reasoning → Spatial and embodied reasoning

Abstract (arXiv)

Spatial reasoning is fundamental to general robot intelligence, as it enables robots to complete long-horizon tasks involving multi-object interaction. We introduce Simify, a training-free, test-time framework that performs explicit spatial reasoning via massively parallel physics simulation. From a single RGB-D image of a scene, Simify reconstructs simulation-ready assets leveraging 3D generative models and vision-language models. Then given a task specified by a reward function (e.g., build the tallest tower), Simify launches thousands of parallel rollouts in simulation and performs an evolutionary search to optimize object arrangements, typically converging within seconds. We conduct quantitative experiments on real-robot hardware to demonstrate the ability of our framework to execute complex object rearrangement tasks end-to-end with previously unseen objects. Results show that our framework outperforms prior work on foundation models for spatial reasoning by effectively exploiting large-scale parallel simulation during inference, and also highlight the importance of complete and accurate geometry for successful sim-to-real transfer.

Key facts. No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026). Placed in Spatial and embodied reasoning, one of 17 directions in LLM reasoning. Builds on 38 of its 45 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 27 Sep 2026.

Builds on

38 of 45 references.

Closest ancestors · 2

Same direction, newest first

  1. 2025SIMPACT: Simulation-Enabled Action Planning using Vision-Language Models5 Dec
  2. 2025MolmoAct: Action Reasoning Models that can Reason in Space11 Aug

Other references · 36

  1. 2021High-Resolution Image Synthesis with Latent Diffusion Modelscited by 18,863
  2. 2024SAM 2: Segment Anything in Images and Videoscited by 2,863
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  4. 2025GR00T N1: An Open Foundation Model for Generalist Humanoid Robotscited by 1,225
  5. 2023VoxPoser: Composable 3D Value Maps for Robotic Manipulation with Language Modelscited by 750
  6. 2023Eureka: Human-Level Reward Design via Coding Large Language Modelscited by 571
  7. 2023LERF: Language Embedded Radiance Fieldscited by 543
  8. 2023ConceptGraphs: Open-Vocabulary 3D Scene Graphs for Perception and Planningcited by 365
  9. 2025Hunyuan3D 2.0: Scaling Diffusion Models for High Resolution Textured 3D Assets Generationcited by 356
  10. 2023RoboGen: Towards Unleashing Infinite Data for Automated Robot Learning via Generative Simulationcited by 218
  11. 2018Closing the Sim-to-Real Loop: Adapting Simulation Randomization with Real World Experiencecited by 217
  12. 2020Rearrangement: A Challenge for Embodied AIcited by 155
24 more
  1. 2024Reconciling Reality through Simulation: A Real-to-Sim-to-Real Approach for Robust Manipulationcited by 144
  2. 2025RoboTwin: Dual-Arm Robot Benchmark with Generative Digital Twinscited by 121
  3. 2024URDFormer: A Pipeline for Constructing Articulated Simulation Environments from Real-World Imagescited by 111
  4. 2015Benchmarking in Manipulation Research: The YCB Object and Model Set and Benchmarking Protocolscited by 99
  5. 2025PhysTwin: Physics-Informed Reconstruction and Simulation of Deformable Objects from Videoscited by 87
  6. 2023Gen2Sim: Scaling up Robot Learning in Simulation with Generative Modelscited by 64
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  8. 2021StructFormer: Learning Spatial Structure for Language-Guided Semantic Rearrangement of Novel Objectscited by 59
  9. 2023cuRobo: Parallelized Collision-Free Minimum-Jerk Robot Motion Generationcited by 52
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  11. 2021Long-Horizon Manipulation of Unknown Objects via Task and Motion Planning with Estimated Affordancescited by 40
  12. 2023Compositional Diffusion-Based Continuous Constraint Solverscited by 40
  13. 2024Physically Embodied Gaussian Splatting: A Realtime Correctable World Model for Roboticscited by 40
  14. 2021Planar Robot Casting with Real2Sim2Real Self-Supervised Learningcited by 39
  15. 2024ASID: Active Exploration for System Identification in Robotic Manipulationcited by 28
  16. 2025Video2Policy: Scaling up Manipulation Tasks in Simulation through Internet Videoscited by 26
  17. 2024SceneComplete: Open-World 3D Scene Completion in Cluttered Real World Environments for Robot Manipulationcited by 18
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  19. 2021ASH: A Modern Framework for Parallel Spatial Hashing in 3D Perceptioncited by 11
  20. 2023Simultaneous Learning of Contact and Continuous Dynamicscited by 8
  21. 2025AnyTask: an Automated Task and Data Generation Framework for Advancing Sim-to-Real Policy Learningcited by 8
  22. 2025Is Single-View Mesh Reconstruction Ready for Robotics?cited by 6
  23. 2025LLM-GROP: Visually Grounded Robot Task and Motion Planning with Large Language Modelscited by 5
  24. 2025DM-OSVP++: One-Shot View Planning Using 3D Diffusion Models for Active RGB-Based Object Reconstructioncited by 2

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  1. 2026Toward Visually Realistic Simulation: A Benchmark for Evaluating Robot Manipulation in Simulation ↗
  2. 2026PhysX-CoT: Structured Physical Reasoning from a Single Image to Simulation-Ready 3D Assets
  3. 2025Scan, Materialize, Simulate: A Generalizable Framework for Physically Grounded Robot Planning
  4. 2025SpatialCoT: Advancing Spatial Reasoning through Coordinate Alignment and Chain-of-Thought for Embodied Task Planning
  5. 2026RoboBrain 2.5: Depth in Sight, Time in Mind
  6. 2024RoboSpatial: Teaching Spatial Understanding to 2D and 3D Vision-Language Models for Robotics
  7. 2026SpatialEvo: Self-Evolving Spatial Intelligence via Deterministic Geometric Environments
  8. 2026Learning Object-Centric Spatial Reasoning for Sequential Manipulation in Cluttered Environments