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Main Authors: Jiao, Kechen, Fang, Zhirui, Liu, Jiahao, Li, Bei, Wang, Qifan, Liu, Xinyu, Ruan, Junhao, Qiao, Zhongjian, Zhu, Yifan, Xu, Yaxin, Wang, Jingang, Li, Xiu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.08500
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author Jiao, Kechen
Fang, Zhirui
Liu, Jiahao
Li, Bei
Wang, Qifan
Liu, Xinyu
Ruan, Junhao
Qiao, Zhongjian
Zhu, Yifan
Xu, Yaxin
Wang, Jingang
Li, Xiu
author_facet Jiao, Kechen
Fang, Zhirui
Liu, Jiahao
Li, Bei
Wang, Qifan
Liu, Xinyu
Ruan, Junhao
Qiao, Zhongjian
Zhu, Yifan
Xu, Yaxin
Wang, Jingang
Li, Xiu
contents Using effective generalization capabilities of vision language models (VLMs) in context-specific dynamic tasks for embodied artificial intelligence remains a significant challenge. Although supervised fine-tuned models can better align with the real physical world, they still exhibit sluggish responses and hallucination issues in dynamically changing environments, necessitating further alignment. Existing post-SFT methods, reliant on reinforcement learning and chain-of-thought (CoT) approaches, are constrained by sparse rewards and action-only optimization, resulting in low sample efficiency, poor consistency, and model degradation. To address these issues, this paper proposes Thought-Centric Preference Optimization (TCPO) for effective embodied decision-making. Specifically, TCPO introduces a stepwise preference-based optimization approach, transforming sparse reward signals into richer step sample pairs. It emphasizes the alignment of the model's intermediate reasoning process, mitigating the problem of model degradation. Moreover, by incorporating Action Policy Consistency Constraint (APC), it further imposes consistency constraints on the model output. Experiments in the ALFWorld environment demonstrate an average success rate of 26.67%, achieving a 6% improvement over RL4VLM and validating the effectiveness of our approach in mitigating model degradation after fine-tuning. These results highlight the potential of integrating preference-based learning techniques with CoT processes to enhance the decision-making capabilities of vision-language models in embodied agents.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2509_08500
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle TCPO: Thought-Centric Preference Optimization for Effective Embodied Decision-making
Jiao, Kechen
Fang, Zhirui
Liu, Jiahao
Li, Bei
Wang, Qifan
Liu, Xinyu
Ruan, Junhao
Qiao, Zhongjian
Zhu, Yifan
Xu, Yaxin
Wang, Jingang
Li, Xiu
Artificial Intelligence
Using effective generalization capabilities of vision language models (VLMs) in context-specific dynamic tasks for embodied artificial intelligence remains a significant challenge. Although supervised fine-tuned models can better align with the real physical world, they still exhibit sluggish responses and hallucination issues in dynamically changing environments, necessitating further alignment. Existing post-SFT methods, reliant on reinforcement learning and chain-of-thought (CoT) approaches, are constrained by sparse rewards and action-only optimization, resulting in low sample efficiency, poor consistency, and model degradation. To address these issues, this paper proposes Thought-Centric Preference Optimization (TCPO) for effective embodied decision-making. Specifically, TCPO introduces a stepwise preference-based optimization approach, transforming sparse reward signals into richer step sample pairs. It emphasizes the alignment of the model's intermediate reasoning process, mitigating the problem of model degradation. Moreover, by incorporating Action Policy Consistency Constraint (APC), it further imposes consistency constraints on the model output. Experiments in the ALFWorld environment demonstrate an average success rate of 26.67%, achieving a 6% improvement over RL4VLM and validating the effectiveness of our approach in mitigating model degradation after fine-tuning. These results highlight the potential of integrating preference-based learning techniques with CoT processes to enhance the decision-making capabilities of vision-language models in embodied agents.
title TCPO: Thought-Centric Preference Optimization for Effective Embodied Decision-making
topic Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2509.08500