2nd Workshop on Knowledge-Intensive Multimodal Reasoning
CVPR 2026, Denver, USA

About The Workshop

This workshop aims to advance the frontier of multimodal AI systems that can effectively reason across specialized domains requiring extensive domain knowledge. Recent advancements in multimodal AI—combining information from text, images, audio, and structured data—have unlocked impressive capabilities in general-purpose reasoning. However, significant challenges persist when these systems encounter scenarios demanding deep domain expertise in fields such as medicine, engineering, and scientific research. Such contexts require expert-level perception and reasoning grounded in extensive subject knowledge, highlighting the need for specialized strategies to handle domain-specific complexity. Through invited talks, panel discussions, and interactive poster sessions, researchers and practitioners from diverse backgrounds will share the latest developments, ongoing hurdles, and promising future directions for knowledge-intensive multimodal reasoning. The workshop aims to foster collaboration and stimulate innovation towards the development of next-generation multimodal AI systems capable of reliable, transparent, and contextually grounded reasoning in specialized, high-stakes environments.

Speakers

Mengdi Wang
Mengdi Wang

Princeton

Jiatao Gu
Jiatao Gu

UPenn & Apple



Topics

The workshop will cover a range of topics, including but not limited to:

Knowledge-intensive Multimodal Learning

This topic focuses on method and architecture designs that integrate domain-specific knowledge with diverse data sources (e.g., text, images, sensor data, and structured data) across specialized fields. We will cover data curation strategies, modality fusion techniques, representation learning frameworks, and explainability methods aimed at ensuring that models capture the domain knowledge crucial for reliable reasoning in high-stakes settings.


Multimodal Foundation Models for Specialized Domains

This topic investigates how to adapt large-scale and general-purpose multimodal foundation models for domains where specialized expertise is essential, such as clinical diagnostics, scientific research, and advanced engineering applications. We will cover strategies for efficient fine-tuning, prompt engineering, domain-centric pre-training, and knowledge distillation to blend foundational capabilities with expert-level insights.


Embodied AI for Knowledge-Intensive Scenarios

This topic explores the integration of multimodal reasoning in physical or interactive domains, ranging from industrial automation to laboratory robotics. Key discussion points include sensor fusion, adaptive learning with minimal supervision, human-robot collaboration, and simulation-to-real transfer in safety-critical scenarios. Emphasis will be placed on how advanced reasoning techniques—grounded in specialized domain knowledge—can help ensure transparency, robustness, and trustworthiness in embodied AI systems.


Evaluation and Benchmarking

Robust evaluation protocols and benchmarks are essential for gauging progress and ensuring the reliability of domain-specific multimodal AI. We will cover the development of standardized benchmarks, performance metrics, and testing methodologies designed to capture the full spectrum of specialized domain challenges for multimodal reasoning.


Broader Topics in Knowledge-Intensive Multimodal Reasoning

In addition to the core themes above, our discussions will expand to emerging areas such as integrating symbolic and neural methods for structured reasoning, ensuring privacy and security with sensitive data, exploring multi-agent collaboration for complex decision-making, and examining societal and ethical considerations when deploying multimodal systems in real-world, high-stakes environments.



Call For Papers

Key Dates

  • Submission Deadline: April 5, 2026 (AOE)
  • Notification: April 22, 2026 (AOE)
All deadlines follow the Anywhere on Earth (AoE) timezone.

Submission Site

Submissions will be managed via OpenReview. Details coming soon.

Submission Format

Papers are limited to eight pages, including figures and tables, in the KnowledgeMR Workshop Latex Template (adopted from the CVPR 2026 template). Additional pages containing cited references and appendix are allowed. Papers that are not properly anonymized, or do not use the template, or have more than eight pages (excluding references and appendix) will be rejected without review.

Anonymity

Double blind review: Our reviewing is double blind, in that authors do not know the names of the area chairs or reviewers for their papers, and the area chairs/reviewers cannot, beyond a reasonable doubt, infer the names of the authors from the submission and the additional material.

Dual Submission and Non-Archival Policy

Submissions under review at other venues will be accepted, provided they do not breach any dual-submission or anonymity policies of those venues. Accepted papers will not be indexed or have archival proceedings.



Student Registration Grant

We are excited to offer a limited number of free full conference, "student early" registrations for CVPR 2026, exclusively for full-time students attending in person. This initiative aims to support early-career researchers while fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the academic community.

Selection Criteria

Applications will be evaluated based on the strength of the submitted materials (see details below). Priority will be given to first-author students presenting papers at our workshop who lack alternative travel support.

How to Apply

Interested students must complete the application form here, which includes the following:

  • Personal & Academic Details: Name, affiliation, and relevant academic information
  • CV/Resume
  • Paper ID: Accepted or submitted to our workshop
  • Statement of Interest: A brief paragraph explaining how this opportunity will benefit your research and career
  • Attendance Confirmation: A clear statement confirming that you will attend in person

Important Notes

  • If you have already registered, please submit your receipt, and we will provide further instructions
  • Travel and accommodations must be arranged independently; this grant covers registration only

This opportunity is highly competitive, and we encourage all eligible students to apply early.

Organizers

This workshop is organized by

Xiangliang Zhang
Xiangliang Zhang

Notre Dame

Manling Li
Manling Li

Northwestern

Wenhu Chen
Wenhu Chen

Meta & UWaterloo

Yilun Zhao
Yilun Zhao

Yale

Zhenwen Liang
Zhenwen Liang

Tencent

Xiangru Tang
Xiangru Tang

Google

Tianyu Yang
Tianyu Yang

Notre Dame

Rui Xiao
Rui Xiao

TUM

Wenhao Chai
Wenhao Chai

Princeton

Sponsors

We welcome sponsorship opportunities. To become a sponsor, please contact us (Yilun Zhao: yilun.zhao@yale.edu).