# Generalist VLA models and benchmarks

Area: [Vision-language-action models](https://mlsanity.com/vla/index.md). HTML: https://mlsanity.com/vla/generalist-vla-models-and-benchmarks/

## Key facts

- Generalist VLA models and benchmarks: 276 papers on arXiv since 2023 (data through 7 Oct 2026).
- 225 of its 276 mapped papers (82%) cite “OpenVLA: An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Model” (2024, arXiv 2406.09246).
- 202 of its 276 mapped papers (73%) cite “RT-2: Vision-Language-Action Models Transfer Web Knowledge to Robotic Control” (2023, arXiv 2307.15818).
- 14 new papers 17 Sep–7 Oct.

## Most cited here

- [OpenVLA: An Open-Source Vision-Language-Action Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.09246/) (2024), cited by 225 papers here
- [RT-2: Vision-Language-Action Models Transfer Web Knowledge to Robotic Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.15818/) (2023), cited by 202 papers here
- [π0: A Vision-Language-Action Flow Model for General Robot Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.24164/) (2024), cited by 180 papers here
- [π0.5: a Vision-Language-Action Model with Open-World Generalization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.16054/) (2025), cited by 143 papers here
- [Fine-Tuning Vision-Language-Action Models: Optimizing Speed and Success](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.19645/) (2025), cited by 92 papers here
- [SmolVLA: A Vision-Language-Action Model for Affordable and Efficient Robotics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.01844/) (2025), cited by 60 papers here
- [TinyVLA: Towards Fast, Data-Efficient Vision-Language-Action Models for Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.12514/) (2024), cited by 53 papers here
- [CogACT: A Foundational Vision-Language-Action Model for Synergizing Cognition and Action in Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.19650/) (2024), cited by 51 papers here
- [DexVLA: Vision-Language Model with Plug-In Diffusion Expert for General Robot Control](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.05855/) (2025), cited by 35 papers here
- [Knowledge Insulating Vision-Language-Action Models: Train Fast, Run Fast, Generalize Better](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.23705/) (2025), cited by 34 papers here

## New (17 Sep–7 Oct)

- [When Does Retrieval Help? A Study of In-Context Adaptation in Vision-Language-Action Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.05492/) (2026-10-04)
- [Vela: Scaling Vision-Language-Action Models with Adaptive Action Curve Parametrization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.05230/) (2026-10-04)
- [MixVLA: Adaptive Mixing of Non-Invariant Information for Generalizable Vision-Language-Action Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.02898/) (2026-10-02)
- [DuoMind: Enabling Distributed Multi-Robot Coordination with Semantic Communication](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.02161/) (2026-10-01)
- [Same Scene, Different Task: Skill Alignment for Compositional Generalization in VLAs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.00524/) (2026-09-30)
- [MotorMind: Scaffolding General Vision Language Models for Zero-Shot Robot Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.38078/) (2026-09-29)
- [InfraVLA: Extending Vision-Language-Action Navigation with Infrastructure Cameras](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33647/) (2026-09-27)
- [TAO-DA: Towards Autonomous Operation--A Dual-Arm Vision-Language-Action Model for Coordinated Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33197/) (2026-09-27)
- [GT-VLA: Target-Conditioned Trace Guidance for Generalizable Robotic Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.31904/) (2026-09-25)
- [MedVLA: A Hierarchical Vision-Language-Action Framework for Closed-Loop Precision Medical Robot Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.25756/) (2026-09-22)
- [MaskVLA: Visual Masking Against Trajectory Overfitting of Vision-Language-Action Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.23565/) (2026-09-20)
- [H-VLA: Hierarchical Vision-Language-Action Model with Key-Action Reasoning and Motion Planning in a Unified Action Space](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.22895/) (2026-09-19)
- [SkipVLA: Skipping VLA Steps with Classical Planning for Fast Robot Manipulation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.20648/) (2026-09-17)
- [Co-VLA: Consensus-based Federated Training for Vision-Language-Action Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.19923/) (2026-09-17)