Event Camera Meets Mobile Embodied Perception: Abstraction, Algorithm, Acceleration, Application

With the evolution of mobile embodied intelligence, agents such as drones and autonomous robots are transitioning toward high agility. This shift imposes stringent demands on embodied perception, requiring high-accuracy and low-latency feedback loops for reliable interaction. Event-based vision has emerged as a transformative paradigm. Its microsecond-level temporal resolution and high dynamic range render it ideal for embodied perception tasks on high-agility mobile platforms. However, asynchronous nature, substantial noise, lack of persistent semantic information, and large data volume pose challenges for processing on resource-constrained mobile agents. This article surveys the literature from 2014–2025 and presents a comprehensive overview of event-based mobile embodied perception. We organize review around four key pillars: event abstraction methods, perception algorithm advancements, hardware and software acceleration strategies, and mobile applications . We discuss critical tasks including visual odometry, object tracking, optical flow, and 3D reconstruction, while highlighting challenges associated with sensor fusion and real-time deployment. Furthermore, we outline future research directions, such as improving event cameras with advanced optics and leveraging neuromorphic computing for efficient processing. To support ongoing research, we provide an open-source Online Sheet with recent developments. We hope this survey serves as a reference, facilitating adoption of event-based vision across diverse mobile embodied applications.