A review of learning-based dynamics models for robotic manipulation

Dynamics models that predict the effects of physical interactions are essential for planning and control in robotic manipulation. Although models based on physical principles often generalize well, they typically require full-state information, which can be difficult or impossible to extract from perception data in complex, real-world scenarios. Learning-based dynamics models provide an alternative by deriving state transition functions purely from perceived interaction data, enabling the capture of complex, hard-to-model factors and predictive uncertainty and accelerating simulations that are often too slow for real-time control. Recent successes in this field have demonstrated notable advancements in robot capabilities, including long-horizon manipulation of deformable objects, granular materials, and complex multiobject interactions such as stowing and packing. A crucial aspect of these investigations is the choice of state representation, which determines the inductive biases in the learning system for reduced-order modeling of scene dynamics. This article provides a timely and comprehensive review of current techniques and trade-offs in designing learned dynamics models, highlighting their role in advancing robot capabilities through integration with state estimation and control and identifying critical research gaps for future exploration.