CAMELOT facilitates the comparison of observational data and simulations of molecular clouds and/or star-forming regions. The central component of CAMELOT is a database summarizing the properties of observational data and simulations in the literature through pertinent metadata. The core functionality allows users to upload metadata, search and visualize the contents of the database to find and match observations/simulations over any range of parameter space.

To bridge the fundamental disconnect between inherently 2D observational data and 3D simulations, the code uses key physical properties that, in principle, are straightforward for both observers and simulators to measure — the surface density (Sigma), velocity dispersion (sigma) and radius (R). By determining these in a self-consistent way for all entries in the database, it should be possible to make robust comparisons.