AdaReasoner Logo

Dynamic Tool Orchestration for Iterative Visual Reasoning

1Fudan University, 2Tongji University, 3NUS, 4UW, 5UESTC, 6CUHK
ICLR 2026
Method Overview

An overview of our AdaReasoner framework.

Video Demo

Abstract

Many visual reasoning problems require acting through tools, measuring, transforming, or simulating intermediate states rather than solving everything in a single forward pass. Effective reasoning, therefore, hinges on knowing which tools to use, when to invoke them, and how to compose them over multiple steps, even when faced with new tools or new tasks. We introduce AdaReasoner, a family of multimodal models that learn tool use as a general reasoning skill rather than as tool-specific or explicitly supervised behavior.

AdaReasoner Overview

AdaReasoner performs adaptive and generalized tool-using.

AdaReasoner is enabled by (i) a scalable data curation pipeline exposing models to long-horizon, multi-step tool interactions; (ii) Tool-GRPO, a reinforcement learning algorithm that optimizes tool selection and sequencing based on end-task success; and (iii) an adaptive learning mechanism that dynamically regulates tool usage. Together, these components allow models to infer tool utility from task context and intermediate outcomes, enabling coordination of multiple tools and generalization to unseen tools. Empirically, AdaReasoner exhibits strong tool-adaptive and generalization behaviors: it autonomously adopts beneficial tools, suppresses irrelevant ones, and adjusts tool usage frequency based on task demands, despite never being explicitly trained to do so. These capabilities translate into state-of-the-art performance across challenging benchmarks, improving the 7B base model by +24.9% on average and surpassing strong proprietary systems such as GPT-5 on multiple tasks, including VSP and Jigsaw.

Adaptive Tool Selection

Autonomously adopts beneficial tools and suppresses irrelevant ones

Multi-Turn Planning

Complex multi-turn tool interactions with reflection capabilities

Strong Generalization

Generalizes to unseen tools and novel tasks beyond training

Main Results

Main Results

Qualitative Examples

Qualitative Examples

AdaReasoner-7B demonstrates advanced capabilities for multi-turn, tool-assisted reasoning and reflection.

Vision Toolset

Point

Online

Precise object localization

DRAW2DPATH

Offline

Visualization and verification

ASTAR

Offline

Shortest path planning

OCR

Online

Text recognition

CROP

Offline

Region extraction

DETECTBLACKAREA

Offline

Missing region detection

INSERTIMAGE

Offline

Hypothesis testing

BibTeX

@article{song2026adareasoner,
  title={AdaReasoner: Dynamic Tool Orchestration for Iterative Visual Reasoning},
  author={Song, Mingyang and Sun, Haoyu and Gu, Jiawei and Li, Linjie and Xu, Luxin and Krishna, Ranjay and Cheng, Yu},
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.18631},
  year={2026}
}