# Decisions needing John

Lane B stops here per the PLAN's John-decision protocol. Full analysis in `B1_BAKEOFF.md`.

## Headline: the SMPL hard-stop is (probably) avoided

The gate the plan feared — "SOTA model needs SMPL, which is research-licensed, so a
commercial license decision blocks everything" — **does not fire for the recommended
engine.** The fresh search turned up **MoCapAnything V2**: MIT code + MIT weights,
commercial use permitted, **no SMPL anywhere**, and it emits BVH straight onto our
mixamorig rig. So the remaining decision is lighter and strategic, not a legal wall.

## Decision 1 — pose engine (the real choice)

| Option | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|
| **A. MoCapAnything V2** (recommended) | commercial-clean (MIT/MIT), no SMPL, BVH-direct onto mixamorig (kills a spec file + most of Lane C), runs on the fleet, cross-species bonus for centaurs | newer/less battle-tested; linked code is a re-implementation; global-trajectory + MPS not yet proven (cheap to verify) |
| B. Pay for GVHMR-grade | best measured accuracy (beats WHAM 18–28%) | GVHMR code is **non-commercial** → must negotiate a paid ZJU license *and* separately clear SMPL. Two negotiations for one engine. |
| C. GEM-X | cleanest license + best output format | **CUDA-only** — needs an NVIDIA box the fleet doesn't have; renting cloud CUDA breaks the zero-cloud rule |

**Recommendation: A.** Go MoCapAnything V2. It's the only option that is commercial-clean,
on-fleet, and BVH-direct at once. Verify its two unknowns (global trajectory, MPS) on the
sample data next session before committing B2 code to it. Keep GVHMR as a research-only
accuracy yardstick if you ever want to know what B would buy.

→ **John: confirm "go MoCapAnything," or say if you want the paid-GVHMR route explored.**

## Decision 2 — clear m3ultra disk (blocker)

`~` on m3ultra is **97% full — 29 GB free of 926 GB.** Enough for one torch env + weights,
too tight to be comfortable, and MODELBEAST shares the box. Please free some space (or point
me at what's safe to prune) before the install session.

→ **John: free space on m3ultra, or greenlight me to find prunable caches.**

## Decision 3 — test footage (blocker for the real quality call)

`capture/inbox/` is empty. I can smoke-test MoCapAnything on its bundled sample, but the
honest walk/dance/pick-up-object quality verdict — and all of B2/B3 + the acceptance check —
needs your clips. Film the PLAN's three per `docs/CAPTURE.md` (T-pose bookends, feet in
frame) and drop them in the inbox, then `python3 ingest.py`.

→ **John: film + ingest walk / dance / pick-up-object when convenient.**

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Once Decision 1 is confirmed and 2–3 are unblocked, the next session installs MoCapAnything
on m3ultra, proves MPS + global trajectory, and proceeds to B2 (service-ize) / B3 (jitter).