MoveDB — Movement Database

Batch-import biomechanics data into Rerun .rrd files, then visualize, catalog, and query across recordings.

C3D files ──┐
OSIM files ─┼──► movedb import ──► .rrd files ──► rerun server ──► Rerun Viewer
B3D files ──┘                              │                    │
                                            └──► DuckDB ──► SQL queries

Quick start

# Install
pip install "movedb-core[all] @ git+https://github.com/hudsonburke/movedb-core.git"

# Import C3D files grouped by subject
movedb import c3d /data/c3d_root -o /data/rrd/

# Serve via the Rerun catalog server
movedb catalog serve /data/rrd/

# Or query with SQL directly
movedb catalog query /data/rrd/ "SELECT entity_path, value FROM scalars WHERE entity_path LIKE '%body_measurements/mass'"

Why MoveDB?

Biomechanics data lives in many formats — C3D, OpenSim models and results (.osim, .mot, .sto, .trc), AddBiomechanics (.b3d) — each with its own tools and workflows. MoveDB provides a single entry point to convert all of them into a unified format that can be visualised, queried, and catalogued with modern data science tools.

The conversion is a one-time cost. Run it on an x86_64 workstation (the only architecture with nimblephysics wheels), then the resulting .rrd files work on any platform — ARM64 laptops, cloud servers, anywhere Rerun runs.

Commands

Command	What it does
movedb import c3d <dir> -o <out>	Walk a directory for C3D files, group by subject, produce one .rrd per subject
movedb import osim <dir> -o <out>	Walk a directory for OpenSim files, produce .rrd files
movedb import b3d <dir> -o <out>	Walk a directory for B3D files, produce .rrd files (x86_64 only)
movedb catalog serve <path>	Start the Rerun catalog server pointing at a directory of .rrd files
movedb catalog query <path> <sql>	Query .rrd files with SQL using the DuckDB rrd extension
movedb info	Show which importers and dependencies are available

Architecture

                  ┌──────────────┐
                  │  C3D files   │──┐
                  └──────────────┘  │
                  ┌──────────────┐  │  ┌──────────────────┐  ┌──────────────┐
                  │ OpenSim files│──┼──┤ rerun-importer-* ├──┤  .rrd files  │
                  └──────────────┘  │  └──────────────────┘  └──────┬───────┘
                  ┌──────────────┐  │                               │
                  │ B3D files*  │──┘                               │
                  └──────────────┘                     ┌────────────┴────────────┐
                  * x86_64 only                        │                         │
                                                  ┌────▼────┐              ┌─────▼─────┐
                                                  │  rerun  │              │  DuckDB   │
                                                  │  server │              │  rrd ext  │
                                                  └────┬────┘              └─────┬─────┘
                                                       │                        │
                                                  ┌────▼────┐              ┌────▼─────┐
                                                  │  Rerun  │              │   SQL    │
                                                  │  Viewer │              │  queries │
                                                  └─────────┘              └──────────┘

Importers

Each importer is a standalone package on $PATH named rerun-importer-*. The Rerun Viewer discovers them automatically — drag a .c3d file onto the viewer and it just works.

Package	Format	Diagram	Dependencies	Arch
rerun-importer-c3d	.c3d	Markers, force plates, analogs, events	ezc3d	all
rerun-importer-osim	.osim, .mot, .sto, .trc	Skeleton meshes, IK/ID/CMC time series	—	all
rerun-importer-b3d	.b3d	Kinematics, GRF, markers, force plates	nimblephysics	x86_64

Catalog server

The Rerun catalog server (rr.server.Server) indexes .rrd files and serves them over HTTP. Connect the Rerun Viewer (rerun --connect) to browse and query across recordings with SQL.

DuckDB extension

The rrd DuckDB community extension reads .rrd files directly. Query all your recordings in one SQL statement:

SELECT subject, AVG(value) as avg_mass
FROM biomechanics.scalars
WHERE entity_path LIKE '%body_measurements/mass'
GROUP BY subject;

Entity path conventions

Every importer follows the same entity path scheme so queries work consistently across datasets:

Path pattern	Content
{subject}/subject/body_measurements/{param}	Static subject parameters
{subject}/trials/{trial}/markers	Per-frame marker positions
{subject}/trials/{trial}/ik/{dof}	IK joint angles
{subject}/trials/{trial}/id/{dof}	ID joint moments
{subject}/trials/{trial}/kinematics/{pass}/{dof}/{field}	Kinematics pos/vel/acc/tau
{subject}/trials/{trial}/grf/{body}/{force|cop}	Ground reaction forces
{subject}/trials/{trial}/force_plates/{fp}/{force|moment|cop}	Force plate data
{subject}/trials/{trial}/analogs/{channel}	Analog time series
{subject}/trials/{trial}/events/{label}	Trial events
{subject}/model/bodies/{name}/mesh	Body geometry meshes

Development

git clone https://github.com/hudsonburke/movedb-core.git
cd movedb-core
uv venv
uv pip install -e ".[all]"
movedb --help

License

MIT