TMLR Survey: The Embodiment Gap in Robot Foundation Models

HirokatuKataoka · x · 2026-08-20

This survey paper published in TMLR introduces the concept of the "embodiment gap"—the work required to adapt reusable foundation models, representations, or data for execution on a robot with a specific body. It maps existing methods on a two-axis diagram showing shared structure types and adaptation stages. The paper examines research directions like sharing semantics, robot data, and learning cross-embodiment correspondences, proposing a reporting framework to evaluate adaptation work beyond just success rates.

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