From Structure to Synergy: A Survey of Vision-Language Perception Paradigm Evolution in Multimodal Large Language Models
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Computer Science > Computation and Language
arXiv:2606.26196 (cs)
[Submitted on 24 Jun 2026]
Title:From Structure to Synergy: A Survey of Vision-Language Perception Paradigm Evolution in Multimodal Large Language Models
View a PDF of the paper titled From Structure to Synergy: A Survey of Vision-Language Perception Paradigm Evolution in Multimodal Large Language Models, by Haoxiang Sun and 4 other authors
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Abstract:Multimodal Large Language Models (MLLMs) have recently made remarkable progress in unifying vision-language understanding and reasoning, especially following the introduction of models such as OpenAI's O-series and DeepSeek's R-series, which have driven a paradigm shift toward perception-centric intelligence. However, there remains a lack of systematic surveys that examine perception from a truly unified vision-language perspective -- one that treats vision and language as an inseparable modality. Existing reviews are often fragmented, focusing separately on either vision or language, and thus rarely capture the cross-modal evolution of perception as an integrated capability. To bridge this gap, we present the first systematic survey of unified vision-language perception in MLLMs. Specifically, we (1) formalize MLLM perception as an intrinsic, unified vision-language capability analogous to human innate perception, (2) introduce a five-stage taxonomy tracing the paradigm evolution of MLLM perception and survey representative methods and milestones at each phase, and (3) identify open challenges and outline promising research directions toward truly general, unified multimodal intelligence. We hope our study will provide both a foundational understanding and an actionable roadmap to foster further innovation on the path toward artificial general intelligence (AGI).
| Subjects: | Computation and Language (cs.CL); Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI); Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (cs.CV); Machine Learning (cs.LG); Multimedia (cs.MM) |
| Cite as: | arXiv:2606.26196 [cs.CL] |
| (or arXiv:2606.26196v1 [cs.CL] for this version) | |
| https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2606.26196
arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)
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| Related DOI: | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inffus.2026.104285
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View a PDF of the paper titled From Structure to Synergy: A Survey of Vision-Language Perception Paradigm Evolution in Multimodal Large Language Models, by Haoxiang Sun and 4 other authors
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