Language Model-Based Control

Overview

The field studies both how language models can control external systems and how controllers can regulate a model’s own behavior and outputs. Common designs use an LLM for high-level planning, intent interpretation, or code generation, paired with faster controllers such as MPC, reinforcement learning, PID, and deterministic tools; retrieval, world models, and formal safety shields help ground or check proposed actions. Researchers evaluate these systems in settings such as robot manipulation, autonomous driving, traffic signals, networks, HVAC, and software agents, using benchmarks including CARLA, SUMO, LIBERO, nuPlan, and OSWorld as well as some hardware tests. Results show useful planning and adaptation, but reliable deployment remains limited by latency, unsafe or incorrect actions, and gaps between simulation performance and robust real-world control.

Latest papers

CardsList

180 papers29 papers in the last four weeks, up 71% on the four weeks before. 0.2% of all new papers.

  1. Say the Mission, Execute the Swarm: Agent-Enhanced LLM Reasoning in the Web-of-Drones

    May 5, 2026Andrea Iannoli, Lorenzo Gigli, Luca Sciullo +2Aerial RoboticsMulti-Robot Systems

  2. CoRAL: Contact-Rich Adaptive LLM-based Control for Robotic Manipulation

    May 4, 2026Berk Çiçek, Mert K. Er, Ozgur S. OguzLanguage Model-Based ControlLarge Language Model-Based Robot Planning

  3. LLM-Foraging: Large Language Models for Decentralized Swarm Robot Foraging

    May 2, 2026Peihan Li, Joanna Gutierrez, Fabian Hernandez +2Swarm RoboticsLanguage Model-Based Control

  4. Benchmarking the Safety of Large Language Models for Robotic Health Attendant Control

    Apr 29, 2026Mahiro Nakao, Kazuhiro TakemotoHealthcare RoboticsLanguage Model-Based Control

  5. LLM-Augmented Traffic Signal Control with LSTM-Based Traffic State Prediction and Safety-Constrained Decision Support

    Apr 26, 2026Jiazhao ShiLanguage Model-Based ControlSafety-Critical Control

  6. Large Language Model based Interactive Decision-Making for Autonomous Driving

    Apr 26, 2026Xinwei Dong, Jiyang Li, Jiabin Xie +5Language Model-Based ControlAutonomous Driving

  7. Bimanual Robot Manipulation via Multi-Agent In-Context Learning

    Apr 22, 2026Alessio Palma, Indro Spinelli, Vignesh Prasad +4ICL for RoboticsLanguage Model-Based Control

  8. Local Linearity of LLMs Enables Activation Steering via Model-Based Linear Optimal Control

    Apr 21, 2026Julian Skifstad, Xinyue Annie Yang, Glen ChouLLM AlignmentLanguage Model-Based Control

  9. Autonomous Skeletal Landmark Localization towards Agentic C-Arm Control

    Apr 20, 2026Jay Jung, Ahmad Arrabi, Jax Luo +2Robotic ControlLanguage Model-Based Control

  10. TrafficClaw: A Generalizable LLM Agent in the Unified Physical Environment for Urban Traffic Control

    Apr 19, 2026Siqi Lai, Pan Zhang, Yuping Zhou +3Agentic RLLanguage Model-Based Control

  11. Credo: Declarative Control of LLM Pipelines via Beliefs and Policies

    Apr 15, 2026Duo Lu, Andrew Crotty, Uğur ÇetintemelLLM Agent OrchestrationLLM Agents

  12. Agentic Control in Variational Language Models

    Apr 14, 2026Yves RuffenachLanguage Model-Based ControlLanguage Modeling

  13. Open-Ended Instruction Realization with LLM-Enabled Multi-Planner Scheduling in Autonomous Vehicles

    Apr 9, 2026Jiawei Liu, Xun Gong, Fen Fang +6Autonomous DrivingAutonomous Driving Planning

  14. The Cartesian Cut in Agentic AI

    Apr 9, 2026Tim Sainburg, Caleb WeinrebLLM AgentsLanguage Model-Based Control

  15. CuraLight: Debate-Guided Data Curation for LLM-Centered Traffic Signal Control

    Apr 7, 2026Qing Guo, Xinhang Li, Junyu Chen +4Traffic Signal ControlLanguage Model-Based Control

  16. Conversational Control with Ontologies for Large Language Models: A Lightweight Framework for Constrained Generation

    Apr 6, 2026Barbara Gendron, Gaël Guibon, Mathieu d'AquinControllable Text GenerationLanguage Model-Based Control

  17. From Prompt to Physical Action: Structured Backdoor Attacks on LLM-Mediated Robotic Control Systems

    Apr 4, 2026Mingyang Xie, Jin Wei-KocsisLLM Backdoor AttacksLanguage Model-Based Control

  18. Bridging Large-Model Reasoning and Real-Time Control via Agentic Fast-Slow Planning

    Apr 2, 2026Jiayi Chen, Shuai Wang, Guangxu Zhu +1Autonomous Driving PlanningMotion Planning

  19. Care-Conditioned Neuromodulation for Autonomy-Preserving Supportive Dialogue Agents

    Apr 2, 2026Shalima Binta Manir, Tim OatesLLM AlignmentMulti-Objective Language Model Alignment

  20. Low-Burden LLM-Based Preference Learning: Personalizing Assistive Robots from Natural Language Feedback for Users with Paralysis

    Apr 1, 2026Keshav Shankar, Dan Ding, Wei GaoAssistive RoboticsRobot Learning

  21. RAD-LAD: Rule and Language Grounded Autonomous Driving in Real-Time

    Mar 30, 2026Anurag Ghosh, Srinivasa Narasimhan, Manmohan Chandraker +1Autonomous Driving PlanningLanguage Model-Based Control

  22. GUIDE: Guided Updates for In-context Decision Evolution in LLM-Driven Spacecraft Operations

    Mar 28, 2026Alejandro Carrasco, Mariko Storey-Matsutani, Victor Rodriguez-Fernandez +1Language Model-Based ControlLLM Agent Self-Improvement