The OpenBiomechanics Project (OBP) is an initiative committed to providing free, high fidelity, elite-level athletic motion capture data to the scientific community. Our aim is to first advance research in the sport biomechanics and high-performance domains followed by expansion to the broader movement health space.
OBP provides C3D files as well as processed biomechanics data (time-series and point of interest metrics) to accommodate those interested in endpoint or starting point data. Documentation detailing metric definitions, variable and file naming conventions, and processing steps is also provided.
It also includes synchronized genlock video samples of human movement along with tutorial Python scripts – the OBP Computer Vision Project.
Currently, the OBP data repository contains data from 100 pitchers and 98 hitters from the Driveline Baseball database.
OBP is the largest high-fidelity, open source set of raw and processed motion capture files on elite baseball players in the world.
Updates
2024-07-30
- OBP High Performance Released! Clone the GitHub repo and check the new folder.
2023-11-02
- OBP Computer Vision (OBP-CV) Released! Access the README and instructions.
2023-01-10
- OBP Tutorial #1: Accessing C3D files using Python and ezc3d added to GitHub repository
About Us
The OpenBiomechanics Project was founded by Driveline Baseball Research and Development, the world’s leader in data-driven baseball player development.
We aim to democratize access to elite-level motion capture data, accelerate progress in the sports biomechanics field, and increase collaboration between researchers in academic and industry settings.
Usage Terms
OBP is 100% free for individual use, forever. Institutional and educational uses are also permitted with a commercial license. Those interested in purchasing a commercial license should email sportsscience@drivelinebaseball.com or fill out the contact form below
All data, code, and any derived works from The OpenBiomechanics Project are provided unless otherwise noted under a specific Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Creative Commons license. Click that link for the simple explanation (along with legal code) of what this means, but almost all parties can:
- Share – copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format
- Adapt – remix, transform, and build upon the material
However, this data is offered under very specific terms:
- Attribution – You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- Non-Commercial – You may not use the material for commercial purposes
- ShareAlike – If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original.
- No additional restrictions – You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
While the license is clear that this data cannot be used for commercial purposes (which includes but is not limited to for-profit organizations, corporations, and sole proprietorships with the intent to profit now or in the future), there is also one additional specific exclusion where this data cannot be used in any form without a specific written commercial (paid) license: Any employee or contractor employed by, associated with, or a significant shareholder of a professional sports organization or financial analysis firm is forbidden to use The OpenBiomechanics Project data for any use whatsoever.
The data provided on this site and in the linked GitHub repository is a sample of a larger dataset that is under IRB approval with associated informed consent documents that is available for paid licensing for commercial uses; see the Contact Us link for more information on these uses.
Usage FAQs
I’m a teacher/professor. Can I use OBP in my classroom?
- Yes! OBP is free for educational use through December 31st, 2030. [updated February 2026] Please make your students’ projects public and link them back to either this website or our GitHub repository. Also, please let us know you’re using it. We’d love to hear about your students’ work!
I am a researcher (independent or university affiliated). Can I use OBP for my research?
- Yes! OBP is free for individual research projects. Forever. Please make your project public and link back to either this website or our GitHub repository. We’d love to take a look.
I am a researcher (affiliated or contracted with a professional sports team or other private company). Can I use OBP for my research?
- Yes, permitting you obtain a commercial license. Please contact us for pricing options.
Citing OBP
If you use data or code from the OpenBiomechanics Project, you should cite it as follows:
Wasserberger KW, Brady AC, Besky DM, Jones BR, Boddy KJ. The OpenBiomechanics Project: The open source initiative for anonymized, elite-level athletic motion capture data. (2022).
A citation file (.bib) can also be copy + pasted from below:
@misc{wasserberger2022obp,
title = {The OpenBiomechanics Project: The open source initiative for anonymized, elite-level athletic motion capture data},
shorttitle = {The OpenBiomechanics Project},
author = {Wasserberger, Kyle W and Brady, Anthony C, Besky David M, Jones BR, and Boddy Kyle J},
date = {2022},
journaltitle = {},
volume = {},
pages = {},
issn = {},
doi = {},
url = {https://github.com/drivelineresearch/openbiomechanics},
urldate = {},
abstract = {},
number = {}
}Contributing to OBP
If you are interested in contributing or donating to OBP, please email sportsscience@drivelinebaseball.com or fill out the contact form below.
Data
All data and accompanying code can be accessed at our publicly-available GitHub repository:
We suggest learning how to use the source control program git to keep your copy updated with any/all patches and changes that occur to the repository. GitHub Desktop is a user-friendly desktop app that should suffice for most users.