{"id":"https://openalex.org/W7170187950","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","title":"Multimodal Large Language Models for Remote Sensing Image Understanding: Domain-Specific or General-Purpose?","display_name":"Multimodal Large Language Models for Remote Sensing Image Understanding: Domain-Specific or General-Purpose?","publication_year":2026,"publication_date":"2026-07-22","ids":{"openalex":"https://openalex.org/W7170187950","doi":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284"},"language":null,"primary_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"type":"preprint","indexed_in":["datacite"],"open_access":{"is_oa":true,"oa_status":"green","oa_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","any_repository_has_fulltext":true},"authorships":[{"author_position":"first","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5109597339","display_name":"Q L","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Ma, Qiwei","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5143498107","display_name":"Chunping Qiu","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Qiu, Chunping","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5104003875","display_name":"Xinger Cheng","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1301-1725"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Cheng, Xinjun","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5143512424","display_name":"Xiaoyu Zhang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Zhang, Xiaoyu","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5011401698","display_name":"Puhong Duan","orcid":"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5066-4399"},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Duan, Puhong","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5143484283","display_name":"Ke Yang","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Yang, Ke","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"middle","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5129959799","display_name":"X Kang (9851831)","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Kang, Xudong","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]},{"author_position":"last","author":{"id":"https://openalex.org/A5143487250","display_name":"Shutao Li","orcid":null},"institutions":[],"countries":[],"is_corresponding":false,"raw_author_name":"Li, Shutao","raw_affiliation_strings":[],"raw_orcid":null,"affiliations":[]}],"institutions":[],"countries_distinct_count":0,"institutions_distinct_count":0,"corresponding_author_ids":[],"corresponding_institution_ids":[],"apc_list":null,"apc_paid":null,"fwci":null,"has_fulltext":false,"cited_by_count":0,"citation_normalized_percentile":null,"cited_by_percentile_year":null,"biblio":{"volume":null,"issue":null,"first_page":null,"last_page":null},"is_retracted":false,"is_paratext":false,"is_xpac":false,"primary_topic":{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.9312000274658203,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},"topics":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11714","display_name":"Multimodal Machine Learning Applications","score":0.9312000274658203,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T11307","display_name":"Domain Adaptation and Few-Shot Learning","score":0.010999999940395355,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1702","display_name":"Artificial Intelligence"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}},{"id":"https://openalex.org/T10036","display_name":"Advanced Neural Network Applications","score":0.010700000450015068,"subfield":{"id":"https://openalex.org/subfields/1707","display_name":"Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition"},"field":{"id":"https://openalex.org/fields/17","display_name":"Computer Science"},"domain":{"id":"https://openalex.org/domains/3","display_name":"Physical Sciences"}}],"keywords":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/task","display_name":"Task (project management)","score":0.5267000198364258},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/generalization","display_name":"Generalization","score":0.4447999894618988},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/remote-sensing-application","display_name":"Remote sensing application","score":0.4404999911785126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/transferability","display_name":"Transferability","score":0.42579999566078186},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/multimodal-interaction","display_name":"Multimodal interaction","score":0.3481999933719635},{"id":"https://openalex.org/keywords/task-analysis","display_name":"Task analysis","score":0.29190000891685486}],"concepts":[{"id":"https://openalex.org/C41008148","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q21198","display_name":"Computer science","level":0,"score":0.7741000056266785},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C62649853","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q199687","display_name":"Remote sensing","level":1,"score":0.5781999826431274},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C2780451532","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q759676","display_name":"Task (project management)","level":2,"score":0.5267000198364258},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C177148314","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q170084","display_name":"Generalization","level":2,"score":0.4447999894618988},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C183365957","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q17140402","display_name":"Remote sensing application","level":3,"score":0.4404999911785126},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C61272859","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7834031","display_name":"Transferability","level":3,"score":0.42579999566078186},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C107457646","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q207434","display_name":"Human\u2013computer interaction","level":1,"score":0.41190001368522644},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C154945302","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11660","display_name":"Artificial intelligence","level":1,"score":0.4027000069618225},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C135641252","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q738567","display_name":"Multimodal interaction","level":2,"score":0.3481999933719635},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C175154964","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q380077","display_name":"Task analysis","level":3,"score":0.29190000891685486},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C119857082","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2539","display_name":"Machine learning","level":1,"score":0.2822999954223633},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C165696696","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11287","display_name":"Exploit","level":2,"score":0.27720001339912415},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C75294576","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5165192","display_name":"Contextual image classification","level":3,"score":0.25999999046325684},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C102063265","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1326533","display_name":"Remote evaluation","level":4,"score":0.2599000036716461},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C159620131","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1938983","display_name":"Spatial analysis","level":2,"score":0.25459998846054077},{"id":"https://openalex.org/C115961682","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q860623","display_name":"Image (mathematics)","level":2,"score":0.2535000145435333}],"mesh":[],"locations_count":1,"locations":[{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":null,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"}],"best_oa_location":{"id":"doi:10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","is_oa":true,"landing_page_url":"https://doi.org/10.48550/arxiv.2607.20284","pdf_url":null,"source":{"id":"https://openalex.org/S4306400194","display_name":"arXiv (Cornell University)","issn_l":"2331-8422","issn":["2331-8422"],"is_oa":true,"is_in_doaj":false,"is_core":false,"host_organization":"https://openalex.org/I205783295","host_organization_name":"Cornell University","host_organization_lineage":["https://openalex.org/I205783295"],"host_organization_lineage_names":[],"type":"repository"},"license":null,"license_id":null,"version":null,"is_accepted":false,"is_published":false,"raw_source_name":null,"raw_type":"Preprint"},"sustainable_development_goals":[],"awards":[],"funders":[],"has_content":{"pdf":false,"grobid_xml":false},"content_urls":null,"referenced_works_count":0,"referenced_works":[],"related_works":[],"abstract_inverted_index":{"The":[0],"rapid":[1],"development":[2],"of":[3,32,41,59,68,139],"multimodal":[4,74,188],"large":[5],"language":[6],"models":[7,124],"(MLLMs)":[8],"has":[9],"introduced":[10],"a":[11,29,53,202],"flexible":[12],"paradigm":[13],"for":[14,61,205,212],"remote":[15,25,43,104,130,196],"sensing":[16,26,44,105,197],"image":[17],"scene":[18],"understanding":[19,31],"(RSISU),":[20],"enabling":[21],"natural-language":[22],"interaction":[23],"with":[24,85],"imagery.":[27],"However,":[28],"systematic":[30,54,203],"the":[33,65,136],"capability":[34],"boundaries,":[35],"cross-task":[36],"generalization,":[37],"and":[38,56,78,95,108,142,163,171,189,194,209],"task-specific":[39],"limitations":[40,160],"existing":[42],"MLLMs":[45,60,89,157,211],"(RS-MLLMs)":[46],"is":[47],"still":[48],"lacking.":[49],"This":[50,199],"paper":[51],"presents":[52],"survey":[55,200],"diagnostic":[57],"evaluation":[58],"RSISU.":[62,213],"We":[63,81],"review":[64],"technical":[66],"evolution":[67],"RS-MLLMs,":[69],"focusing":[70],"on":[71,125,178],"model":[72],"design,":[73],"learning,":[75],"training":[76],"data,":[77],"downstream":[79],"capabilities.":[80],"further":[82],"compare":[83],"RS-MLLMs":[84,97,146],"general-purpose":[86,115,140],"computer":[87],"vision":[88],"(CV-MLLMs)":[90],"across":[91,152,173],"diverse":[92,153],"RSISU":[93,127,154],"tasks":[94,128],"benchmarks.":[96],"remain":[98],"competitive":[99],"in":[100,161],"domain-specific":[101],"settings,":[102],"particularly":[103],"visual":[106,110,167],"grounding":[107],"high-resolution":[109,190],"question":[111],"answering.":[112],"More":[113],"notably,":[114],"CV-MLLMs":[116,141],"can":[117],"match":[118],"or":[119],"even":[120],"outperform":[121,150],"these":[122,179],"specialized":[123],"several":[126],"without":[129],"sensing-specific":[131],"fine-tuning.":[132],"These":[133],"findings":[134],"demonstrate":[135],"strong":[137],"transferability":[138],"show":[143],"that":[144],"current":[145],"do":[147],"not":[148],"consistently":[149],"them":[151],"tasks.":[155],"Current":[156],"also":[158],"face":[159],"spatial":[162],"relational":[164],"reasoning,":[165,191],"fine-grained":[166],"understanding,":[168],"instruction":[169],"diversity,":[170],"generalization":[172],"heterogeneous":[174],"task":[175],"formats.":[176],"Based":[177],"findings,":[180],"we":[181],"outline":[182],"future":[183],"directions":[184],"toward":[185],"reliable":[186],"evaluation,":[187],"efficient":[192],"deployment,":[193],"tool-augmented":[195],"agents.":[198],"provides":[201],"reference":[204],"developing":[206],"robust,":[207],"generalizable,":[208],"practical":[210]},"counts_by_year":[],"updated_date":"2026-07-28T07:46:37.118299","created_date":"2026-07-24T00:00:00"}
