diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9aad5341b..b53b32f2e 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -68,7 +68,10 @@ This breakthrough is driven by an innovative data engine that has automatically
 
 - Python 3.12 or higher
 - PyTorch 2.7 or higher
-- CUDA-compatible GPU with CUDA 12.6 or higher
+- A CUDA-compatible GPU (CUDA 12.6 or higher) is recommended for best
+  performance. CPU-only environments are also supported — the device is
+  selected automatically based on `torch.cuda.is_available()` (inference will
+  be slower without a GPU).
 
 1. **Create a new Conda environment:**
 
@@ -84,6 +87,13 @@ conda activate sam3
 pip install torch==2.10.0 torchvision --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cu128
 ```
 
+> **CPU-only:** if you don't have a CUDA-compatible GPU, install the CPU build
+> instead. SAM 3 will automatically fall back to running on CPU.
+>
+> ```bash
+> pip install torch==2.10.0 torchvision --index-url https://download.pytorch.org/whl/cpu
+> ```
+
 3. **Clone the repository and install the package:**
 
 ```bash
diff --git a/sam3/model/decoder.py b/sam3/model/decoder.py
index b90e55f5c..0c7dfd4c5 100644
--- a/sam3/model/decoder.py
+++ b/sam3/model/decoder.py
@@ -280,7 +280,9 @@ def __init__(
             if resolution is not None and stride is not None:
                 feat_size = resolution // stride
                 coords_h, coords_w = self._get_coords(
-                    feat_size, feat_size, device="cuda"
+                    feat_size,
+                    feat_size,
+                    device="cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu",
                 )
                 self.compilable_cord_cache = (coords_h, coords_w)
                 self.compilable_stored_size = (feat_size, feat_size)
diff --git a/sam3/model/position_encoding.py b/sam3/model/position_encoding.py
index f38c62b32..ad3cb881e 100644
--- a/sam3/model/position_encoding.py
+++ b/sam3/model/position_encoding.py
@@ -51,8 +51,9 @@ def __init__(
                 (int(precompute_resolution // 28), int(precompute_resolution // 28)),
                 (precompute_resolution // 32, precompute_resolution // 32),
             ]
+            device = "cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu"
             for size in precompute_sizes:
-                tensors = torch.zeros((1, 1) + size, device="cuda")
+                tensors = torch.zeros((1, 1) + size, device=device)
                 self.forward(tensors)
                 # further clone and detach it in the cache (just to be safe)
                 self.cache[size] = self.cache[size].clone().detach()
diff --git a/sam3/model/sam3_image_processor.py b/sam3/model/sam3_image_processor.py
index 83bbb0d85..57bffa7bb 100644
--- a/sam3/model/sam3_image_processor.py
+++ b/sam3/model/sam3_image_processor.py
@@ -14,7 +14,13 @@
 class Sam3Processor:
     """ """
 
-    def __init__(self, model, resolution=1008, device="cuda", confidence_threshold=0.5):
+    def __init__(
+        self,
+        model,
+        resolution=1008,
+        device="cuda" if torch.cuda.is_available() else "cpu",
+        confidence_threshold=0.5,
+    ):
         self.model = model
         self.resolution = resolution
         self.device = device
diff --git a/test/test_cpu_position_encoding.py b/test/test_cpu_position_encoding.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..1956da8ab
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/test_cpu_position_encoding.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+# Copyright (c) Meta Platforms, Inc. and affiliates. All Rights Reserved
+
+"""Regression test for CPU-only construction of PositionEmbeddingSine.
+
+Previously, PositionEmbeddingSine precomputed its cache with a hardcoded
+``device="cuda"``, which raised a RuntimeError on CPU-only machines when a
+``precompute_resolution`` was provided (see GitHub issue #587).
+"""
+
+import unittest
+from unittest.mock import patch
+
+import torch
+from sam3.model.position_encoding import PositionEmbeddingSine
+
+
+class TestPositionEmbeddingSineCpu(unittest.TestCase):
+    """PositionEmbeddingSine should build without CUDA when none is available."""
+
+    def test_precompute_builds_on_cpu_when_cuda_unavailable(self) -> None:
+        """Constructing with precompute_resolution must not require CUDA."""
+        with patch("torch.cuda.is_available", return_value=False):
+            pos_enc = PositionEmbeddingSine(
+                num_pos_feats=256,
+                precompute_resolution=112,
+            )
+
+        # The cache is populated and lives on CPU.
+        self.assertGreater(len(pos_enc.cache), 0)
+        for cached in pos_enc.cache.values():
+            self.assertEqual(cached.device.type, "cpu")
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()