CMU Motion Capture Database

2,605 motion sequences, free for all uses. The foundational motion capture dataset for robotics and animation.

Free / Public Domain BVH / AMC / C3D Motion Capture

Key Stats

MetricValue
Sequences2,605
Subjects144
Categories6 (locomotion, sports, dance, daily activities, interactions, test)
Capture system12-camera Vicon optical marker system
FormatsBVH, AMC/ASF, C3D
LicenseFree for all uses (no restrictions)
OriginCarnegie Mellon University Graphics Lab

What is CMU MoCap?

The CMU Motion Capture Database is one of the most cited datasets in both computer graphics and robotics. Created by Carnegie Mellon University's Graphics Lab, it contains 2,605 motion sequences from 144 subjects performing a wide range of activities: walking, running, jumping, sports, dance, pantomime, human interactions, and various daily activities.

The data was captured using a 12-camera Vicon optical marker tracking system and is available in multiple standard formats (BVH, AMC/ASF, C3D). It is the single largest contributor to the AMASS unified motion archive and, by extension, the foundation for the HumanML3D text-to-motion dataset.

Its completely unrestricted license (free for all uses, including commercial) makes it one of the safest motion datasets to build products on.

Related datasets

  • AMASS -- unified archive that includes CMU MoCap (SMPL format)
  • HumanML3D -- text descriptions added to AMASS motions
  • Unitree G1 -- real humanoid robot data

Motion retargeting for your robot

We retarget human motion capture data to specific robot embodiments for natural-looking movement.