Decouple high-level VLM planning from low-level execution to speed up mobile agents

Introducing Jev-Mobile, using a fast typed decision model to execute multiple GUI actions per VLM call, achieving 32.7% faster completion and 73.4% lower API cost.

Academic
Linghua Zhang

Rice University

Research Digest··3 min read

In one line

Separating VLM planning from lightweight, accessibility-based execution cuts mobile GUI agent time and API cost while retaining competitive task success.

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Jev-Mobile uses a VLM only to define local goals and exact input values. A typed decision model then selects multiple actions from candidates generated from the latest Android accessibility tree, returning control when finished or blocked.

On the full AndroidWorld suite, it achieved 79% task success, versus 78% for SeeAct-V and 84% for a step-wise VLM baseline. Among successful trajectories, it reduced mean execution time by 32.7% and mean model API cost by 73.4% relative to the step-wise baseline.

The result suggests that expensive multimodal reasoning need not run at every interaction step. Structured interfaces can support a cheaper execution loop while preserving much of the stronger baseline's task performance.

How it works

before and after
USUAL STEP-WISE CONTROLTask and current screenTask and currentscreenStep-wise VLM: Plans and grounds each actionStep-wise VLMPlans and grounds eachactionGUI action: Tap, scroll, or typeGUI actionTap, scroll, or typeJEV-MOBILElocal goal and textcandidateactionsselectedactionupdated UI treeOccasional VLM plan: Reads screen, sets local goalOccasionalVLM planReads screen,sets local goalAction enumeration: Builds choices from UI treeActionenumerationBuilds choicesfrom UI treeJev decision service: Chooses action or completionJev decisionserviceChooses actionor completionMobile GUI: Runs action and updates screenMobile GUIRuns action andupdates screenThe accessibility tree deterministically enumerates executable actions.
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