RawVLA: Embodied Neural Image Signal Processor For Robotic Manipulation

RawVLA introduces a streaming neural image signal processor that adaptively renders RAW observations for vision‑language‑action (VLA) policies, focusing on imaging factors that influence embodied behavior. The authors systematically analyze how five ISP dimensions—gain, sensor noise, chromatic response, tonal response, and bit depth—affect action prediction and manipulation success, showing that RAW‑to‑RGB processing significantly shapes outcomes. They also present RawVLA‑Bench, a RAW‑domain manipulation benchmark that evaluates image processing as an explicit variable across clean and adverse conditions, demonstrating that RawVLA maintains performance under standard settings while markedly improving robustness under degraded imaging.