Insider Brief
- OptiTrack entered a multiyear technology partnership with Carnegie Mellon University to provide motion-capture systems for two research facilities at the university’s Robotics Innovation Center.
- The company said it deployed 92 cameras across the center’s indoor Motion Capture Studio and outdoor Drone Cage, including 28 PrimeX41 cameras, four Prime Color reference cameras and 60 VersaX120 outdoor cameras.
- OptiTrack said the systems will support research in autonomous aerial robotics, multi-robot coordination, robotic imitation learning, human activity modeling and work tied to Carnegie Mellon’s Physical AI Accelerator.
OptiTrack announced it has entered a multiyear technology partnership with Carnegie Mellon University to provide motion-capture systems for two research facilities at the university’s Robotics Innovation Center.
The company said it deployed 92 cameras across the center’s indoor Motion Capture Studio and outdoor Drone Cage.
Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Innovation Center opened Feb. 27, 2026, at Hazelwood Green in Pittsburgh. The 150,000-square-foot facility includes a 50,000-square-foot robotics testing floor, an aquatic research lab, a motion-capture studio and a 6,000-square-foot outdoor drone cage, according to OptiTrack.
“We are proud to partner with CMU’s world-class robotics program,” OptiTrack CEO Sidney Rittenberg said in the announcement. “This groundbreaking collaboration validates what our customers already know: OptiTrack leads in precision, scalability, and reliability — powered by the most advanced motion capture technology in the industry.”
The indoor Motion Capture Studio uses 28 PrimeX41 cameras and four Prime Color reference cameras. OptiTrack said the system provides micron-level accuracy across the studio’s 2,800-square-foot volume. The outdoor Drone Cage uses 60 VersaX120 cameras, which OptiTrack said are designed for outdoor use with IP66-rated weather protection. The cameras cover the cage volume up to its 38-foot ceiling.
OptiTrack said both systems use its ActiveIO Tracking technology to identify and track hundreds of objects at the same time. OptiTrack said the systems will support research at the Robotics Innovation Center in areas including autonomous aerial robotics, multi-robot coordination, robotic imitation learning and human activity modeling.
The equipment will be used by CMU’s AirLab and by researchers led by Associate Research Professor Kris Kitani. OptiTrack said the systems also support work connected to Carnegie Mellon’s Physical AI Accelerator, a state-backed effort focused on robotics, sensing and intelligent systems.
OptiTrack noted it also joined Carnegie Mellon’s Extended Reality Technology Center as a sponsor. The center, launched in 2023, brings together researchers, industry and consumers working on virtual, augmented and other extended-reality technologies. Researchers at the center plan to use the OptiTrack equipment at the Robotics Innovation Center to recreate movement in virtual environments.
“The future of robotics, physical AI and extended reality will be forged at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Innovation Center,” added Martial Hebert, dean of Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science. “We are excited to partner with OptiTrack to put their industry-leading motion capture technology in the hands of our researchers. Whether tracking multi-robot systems, drone swarms or human movement, OptiTrack’s suite of cameras and sensors will enable a new generation of discovery.”
Image credit: OptiTrack
