Difference between revisions of "Google Summer of Code/Project Ideas"

From BRL-CAD
(more mentor links)
(stub in technical poc's for the remainder)
Line 102: Line 102:
 
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|}
 
|}
 
  
  
Line 114: Line 113:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Code Reduction]]:'''  BRL-CAD is more than 1M lines of code.  Approximately 10% of that is duplication.  Help reduce that percentage.
 
|'''[[Code Reduction]]:'''  BRL-CAD is more than 1M lines of code.  Approximately 10% of that is duplication.  Help reduce that percentage.
Line 119: Line 119:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[MGED to Archer Command Migration]]:'''  Our next-generation editor (Archer) needs to have the same (700+) commands that are in MGED.  Help make our next CAD interface awesome.
 
|'''[[MGED to Archer Command Migration]]:'''  Our next-generation editor (Archer) needs to have the same (700+) commands that are in MGED.  Help make our next CAD interface awesome.
Line 124: Line 125:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[General Tree Walker]]:'''  We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways.  There only needs to be one.
 
|'''[[General Tree Walker]]:'''  We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways.  There only needs to be one.
Line 129: Line 131:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl]]:'''  Tcl's '''''C API''''' is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone.
 
|'''[[Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl]]:'''  Tcl's '''''C API''''' is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone.
Line 134: Line 137:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Yapp, Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Consolidate image processing]]:'''  We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data.  Needs much reuse love.
 
|'''[[Consolidate image processing]]:'''  We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data.  Needs much reuse love.
Line 139: Line 143:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Fix Bugs]]:'''  We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability.  We still have bugs.  Identify some and fix 'em!
 
|'''[[Fix Bugs]]:'''  We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability.  We still have bugs.  Identify some and fix 'em!
Line 144: Line 149:
 
|DEPENDS
 
|DEPENDS
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Morrison, Gillich, Yapp]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 156: Line 162:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
|'''[[New Cross-Platform 3D Display Manager]]:'''  BRL-CAD uses '''''display managers''''' for visualizing 3D geometry in a window.  We want one that uses a cross-platform toolkit such as Qt or OGRE.
+
|'''[[New Cross-Platform 3D Display Manager]]:'''  BRL-CAD uses '''''display managers''''' for visualizing 3D geometry in a window.  We want one that uses a cross-platform toolkit such as Qt + OGRE.
 
|C/C++
 
|C/C++
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[New Cross-Platform 2D Framebuffer]]:'''  BRL-CAD uses '''''framebuffers''''' to display 2D imagery.  The merits of having a single interface for most platforms is self-evident.
 
|'''[[New Cross-Platform 2D Framebuffer]]:'''  BRL-CAD uses '''''framebuffers''''' to display 2D imagery.  The merits of having a single interface for most platforms is self-evident.
Line 166: Line 174:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[2D Sketch Editor]]:'''  MGED has a sucky 2D sketch editor written in pure Tcl/Tk.  Archer has nothing.  Fix the old one or write a new one.
 
|'''[[2D Sketch Editor]]:'''  MGED has a sucky 2D sketch editor written in pure Tcl/Tk.  Archer has nothing.  Fix the old one or write a new one.
Line 171: Line 180:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[GUI Integration of Analysis Tools]]:'''  There are a ''lot'' of visualization tools in BRL-CAD, but most aren't integrated with the GUI.  Visualizing directly within the GUI would improve usability.
 
|'''[[GUI Integration of Analysis Tools]]:'''  There are a ''lot'' of visualization tools in BRL-CAD, but most aren't integrated with the GUI.  Visualizing directly within the GUI would improve usability.
Line 176: Line 186:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Rossberg, Gillich]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Level of Detail Wireframes]]:''' Geometry is drawn with fixed wireframe detail which can screw performance and make shape recognition difficult.  Detail needs to adjust based on view size.
 
|'''[[Level of Detail Wireframes]]:''' Geometry is drawn with fixed wireframe detail which can screw performance and make shape recognition difficult.  Detail needs to adjust based on view size.
Line 181: Line 192:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[BoT Editing]]:'''  Our unstructured triangle mesh geometry (Bag of Triangles = BoT) is a common import format, but our BoT edit support sucks.  We need something better.
 
|'''[[BoT Editing]]:'''  Our unstructured triangle mesh geometry (Bag of Triangles = BoT) is a common import format, but our BoT edit support sucks.  We need something better.
Line 186: Line 198:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Greenwald, Bowman]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[NMG Editing]]:'''  Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent.  We need something.
 
|'''[[NMG Editing]]:'''  Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent.  We need something.
Line 191: Line 204:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Weiss, Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG)]]:'''  CSG forms a directed acyclic graph.  Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better.
 
|'''[[Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG)]]:'''  CSG forms a directed acyclic graph.  Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better.
Line 196: Line 210:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Browder]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 208: Line 223:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[STEP exporter]]:'''  We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry.
 
|'''[[STEP exporter]]:'''  We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry.
Line 213: Line 229:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Bowman, Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[STEP importer improvements]]:'''  We have an importer, but it's preliminary.  Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry.
 
|'''[[STEP importer improvements]]:'''  We have an importer, but it's preliminary.  Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry.
Line 218: Line 235:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Bowman, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[IGES import improvements]]:'''  We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating.
 
|'''[[IGES import improvements]]:'''  We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating.
Line 223: Line 241:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Geometry Conversion Library]]:'''  Probably our biggest open source asset is our extensive collection of importers and exporters.  Turn them all into a universal conversion library.  
 
|'''[[Geometry Conversion Library]]:'''  Probably our biggest open source asset is our extensive collection of importers and exporters.  Turn them all into a universal conversion library.  
Line 228: Line 247:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Voxelize]] command:'''  Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays.  The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you.
 
|'''[[Voxelize]] command:'''  Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays.  The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you.
Line 233: Line 253:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 245: Line 266:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[GED Transactions]]:''' Migrating functionality from our MGED geometry editor into our LIBGED library provided excellent code reuse, but now we need transactions so that actions can be undone.
 
|'''[[GED Transactions]]:''' Migrating functionality from our MGED geometry editor into our LIBGED library provided excellent code reuse, but now we need transactions so that actions can be undone.
Line 250: Line 272:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Add exec option to search]]:'''  Our LIBGED library provides a ''search'' command very similar to the UNIX ''find'' command for scanning through geometry.  Implement the -exec option.
 
|'''[[Add exec option to search]]:'''  Our LIBGED library provides a ''search'' command very similar to the UNIX ''find'' command for scanning through geometry.  Implement the -exec option.
Line 255: Line 278:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Geometry Selection Functionality]]:'''  Implement a new selection command that lets you temporarily group objects based on spatial, attribute, or geometric properties.
 
|'''[[Geometry Selection Functionality]]:'''  Implement a new selection command that lets you temporarily group objects based on spatial, attribute, or geometric properties.
Line 260: Line 284:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Geometric Constraint Solver]]:'''  Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships.
 
|'''[[Geometric Constraint Solver]]:'''  Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships.
Line 265: Line 290:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Space Partitioning for Tessellation]]:'''  Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation.
 
|'''[[Space Partitioning for Tessellation]]:'''  Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation.
Line 270: Line 296:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[libsvn within Geometry Database Format]]:'''  Our ''Geometry Service'' project provides comprehensive edit history by using a revision control system.  Hook our .g database on the backend ftw.
 
|'''[[libsvn within Geometry Database Format]]:'''  Our ''Geometry Service'' project provides comprehensive edit history by using a revision control system.  Hook our .g database on the backend ftw.
Line 275: Line 302:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Overlap tool]]:''' Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity.  Design an awesome interface for resolving conflicts.
 
|'''[[Overlap tool]]:''' Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity.  Design an awesome interface for resolving conflicts.
Line 280: Line 308:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Yapp, Morrison, Greenwald]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 292: Line 321:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Shader Enhancements]]:'''  We have a functioning custom shader system in BRL-CAD, but there are now folks that specialize and there's lot of room for improvements.
 
|'''[[Shader Enhancements]]:'''  We have a functioning custom shader system in BRL-CAD, but there are now folks that specialize and there's lot of room for improvements.
Line 297: Line 327:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Material and Shader Objects]]:'''  This one is a biggie but easy.  Implement new object entities for describing shaders and material properties, use them during ray tracing.
 
|'''[[Material and Shader Objects]]:'''  This one is a biggie but easy.  Implement new object entities for describing shaders and material properties, use them during ray tracing.
Line 302: Line 333:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[NMG Raytracing Performance Improvement]]:'''  BRL-CAD's structured mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) needs some time in a profiler.  Malloc during raytracing is bad.
 
|'''[[NMG Raytracing Performance Improvement]]:'''  BRL-CAD's structured mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) needs some time in a profiler.  Malloc during raytracing is bad.
Line 307: Line 339:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Greenwald, Bowman]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability]]:''' Need more be said?  If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you.
 
|'''[[Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability]]:''' Need more be said?  If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you.
Line 312: Line 345:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[High Dynamic Range Support]]:'''  We don't have displays supporting this yet, but that's never stopped us before.  Implement support for images with more than 8-bits per channel.
 
|'''[[High Dynamic Range Support]]:'''  We don't have displays supporting this yet, but that's never stopped us before.  Implement support for images with more than 8-bits per channel.
Line 317: Line 351:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Vector output from raytracing]]:'''  Huge impact here if you can update one or more of our raytracers to provide vector output instead of raster.  Perhaps render directly to PDF or SVG.
 
|'''[[Vector output from raytracing]]:'''  Huge impact here if you can update one or more of our raytracers to provide vector output instead of raster.  Perhaps render directly to PDF or SVG.
Line 322: Line 357:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Analysis Library]]:'''  There are various tools in BRL-CAD for calculating weights, moments of inertia, and more.  They're stand-alone applications.  Turn them into a library.
 
|'''[[Analysis Library]]:'''  There are various tools in BRL-CAD for calculating weights, moments of inertia, and more.  They're stand-alone applications.  Turn them into a library.
Line 327: Line 363:
 
|HUGE
 
|HUGE
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Yapp, Morrison]]
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 339: Line 376:
 
!Impact
 
!Impact
 
!Difficulty
 
!Difficulty
 +
!Contacts
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Astronomical units]]:'''  We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion...
 
|'''[[Astronomical units]]:'''  We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion...
Line 344: Line 382:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|EASY
 
|EASY
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Bending light]]:'''  Think gravity wells and satellite cameras.
 
|'''[[Bending light]]:'''  Think gravity wells and satellite cameras.
Line 349: Line 388:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Celestial mechanics particle system]]:'''  Simulate solar systems and galaxies.
 
|'''[[Celestial mechanics particle system]]:'''  Simulate solar systems and galaxies.
Line 354: Line 394:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Greenwald]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Non-vacuum gravity simulator]]:'''  Simulate falling to earth.
 
|'''[[Non-vacuum gravity simulator]]:'''  Simulate falling to earth.
Line 359: Line 400:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|MEDIUM
 
|MEDIUM
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Browder, Greenwald, Morrison, Yapp]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Polarization]]:'''  We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects.  Implement ray splitting and filtering.
 
|'''[[Polarization]]:'''  We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects.  Implement ray splitting and filtering.
Line 364: Line 406:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Morrison, Rossberg]]
 
|-
 
|-
 
|'''[[Density functions]]:'''  Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone.  Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials.
 
|'''[[Density functions]]:'''  Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone.  Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials.
Line 369: Line 412:
 
|BIG
 
|BIG
 
|HARD
 
|HARD
 +
|[[Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#Mentors|Rossberg, Morrison, Davsisson]]
 
|}  
 
|}  
  

Revision as of 20:21, 10 March 2012

The projects below should serve as a good starting point for new developers that would like to work on BRL-CAD. The ideas range from very hard and math intense to very easy. Each idea links to a page with more details.

You are welcome to scale the scope of the project up or down as needed as the ideas suggested below are merely starting points. There are also several other areas of development that are of high-interest in addition to those below.

BRL-CAD Priorities

Be sure to read up on our application process for getting started with your proposal submission if you have not done so already including our checklist.

Project Categories

Web Development Projects

We have high expectations for web development projects because the developer often does not stick around after development is over. We're not interested in web code, we're interested in people. If you're willing to work on your project long after GSoC is over (i.e., joining the project) and are willing to make a long-term commitment to BRL-CAD, then we absolutely welcome your web development project idea.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Synchronize Wiki with Docbook: We use Docbook for most of our user documentation but find editing a wiki page much easier to use. Set up a system so the two are always in sync. Depends HUGE MEDIUM Browder, Yapp
Benchmark Performance Database: BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance across configurations. Build a database website. Depends BIG MEDIUM Morrison
Materials Database: Create a Materials Database web site for collecting, managing, and providing programmatic interfaces to material properties. Depends BIG MEDIUM Morrison, Yapp


NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) Projects

BRL-CAD has recently implemented raytracing support for NURBS-based boundary representation geometry. It's one of our hot-topic priority focus areas with high impact and high visibility. They are also pretty hard so be careful to have sufficient familiarity and lots of milestones.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
NURBS Intersections: Evaluate the intersection of two NURBS surfaces. You'll get a 3D curve or a point, line segment, or even a plane depending how the surfaces overlap. C/C++ HUGE HARD Davisson, Yapp, Bowman, Rossberg
NURBS Tessellation: Given a NURBS object (i.e., a collection of NURBS surfaces that enclose space), evaluate a polygonal mesh. It has to be fast. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Davisson, Yapp, Bowman, Rossberg
Implicit to NURBS conversion: We implement lots of primitives like sphere and torus defined with implicit parameters. Given one of our implicit primitives, describe it using NURBS surfaces. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Davisson, Yapp, Rossberg
Plate Mode NURBS raytracing: Imported NURBS geometry often does NOT enclose space (i.e., not solid), so add support for specifying an implicit thickness. C/C++ HUGE HARD Davisson, Morrison, Bowman


Collaborative Projects

BRL-CAD utilizes lots of 3rd party dependencies that requires active maintenance and development. These projects aim to improve those dependencies directly so that they not only benefit BRL-CAD, but help improve other projects also using them.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
STEP Libraries: We took over NIST's STEP Class Library (SCL) project during our development of a STEP exporter. SCL has since turned into a larger community collaboration. The code needs cleanup. C/C++ HUGE EASY Gillich, Yapp
Ayam Editor Feature Integration: The Ayam project has support for NURBS editing, we do not. Collaborative reuse would be a good thing. C/Tcl BIG MEDIUM Yapp


Code Refactoring Projects

BRL-CAD has more than a million lines of code so we have to continually refactor and clean up code for maintainability. Cruft happens. These projects help reduce the complexity and make things better. They're not very hard at all, but exceedingly valuable to our project vitality.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Code Reduction: BRL-CAD is more than 1M lines of code. Approximately 10% of that is duplication. Help reduce that percentage. C BIG EASY Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich
MGED to Archer Command Migration: Our next-generation editor (Archer) needs to have the same (700+) commands that are in MGED. Help make our next CAD interface awesome. C and Tcl HUGE EASY Browder, Yapp
General Tree Walker: We have a half dozen or more functions that will traverse a geometry hierarchy in different ways. There only needs to be one. C HUGE EASY Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison
Rework of libbu/libbn to not require Tcl: Tcl's C API is used throughout BRL-CAD providing great abstractions, but we want our basic utility and numeric libraries (LIBBU & LIBBN) to stand alone. C HUGE EASY Morrison, Yapp, Greenwald
Consolidate image processing: We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data. Needs much reuse love. C HUGE EASY Greenwald
Fix Bugs: We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability. We still have bugs. Identify some and fix 'em! C DEPENDS EASY Browder, Morrison, Gillich, Yapp


Graphical User Interface (GUI) Projects

The primary environment in which users interact with BRL-CAD geometry is the MGED geometry editor. The "next generation" interface for MGED, dubbed Archer, has been under development for some time but there is a lot of functionality that still needs to be migrated and new features needed by MGED, Archer, or both.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
New Cross-Platform 3D Display Manager: BRL-CAD uses display managers for visualizing 3D geometry in a window. We want one that uses a cross-platform toolkit such as Qt + OGRE. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Morrison
New Cross-Platform 2D Framebuffer: BRL-CAD uses framebuffers to display 2D imagery. The merits of having a single interface for most platforms is self-evident. C/C++ HUGE EASY Morrison, Yapp
2D Sketch Editor: MGED has a sucky 2D sketch editor written in pure Tcl/Tk. Archer has nothing. Fix the old one or write a new one. Tcl (presently) and/or C HUGE HARD Yapp, Morrison
GUI Integration of Analysis Tools: There are a lot of visualization tools in BRL-CAD, but most aren't integrated with the GUI. Visualizing directly within the GUI would improve usability. C BIG MEDIUM Browder, Rossberg, Gillich
Level of Detail Wireframes: Geometry is drawn with fixed wireframe detail which can screw performance and make shape recognition difficult. Detail needs to adjust based on view size. C HUGE EASY Greenwald, Morrison
BoT Editing: Our unstructured triangle mesh geometry (Bag of Triangles = BoT) is a common import format, but our BoT edit support sucks. We need something better. C HUGE HARD Browder, Greenwald, Bowman
NMG Editing: Our structured polygonal mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) is a common export format, but our NMG edit support is non-existent. We need something. C HUGE HARD Weiss, Morrison, Rossberg
Visualizing Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG): CSG forms a directed acyclic graph. Tree view widgets show a simple hierarchical representation, but we need something better. C/C++ HUGE EASY Morrison, Browder


Geometry Conversion Projects

When it comes to geometry conversion, STEP and IGES are the priority. STEP is an absurdly complicated format, but we're one of the first open source projects to implement a working importer. IGES is a much older standard, but more time-tested too. Both have a variety of potential high-priority projects associated with the.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
STEP exporter: We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry. C/C++ HUGE EASY Bowman, Yapp, Morrison
STEP importer improvements: We have an importer, but it's preliminary. Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry. C/C++ HUGE MEDIUM Bowman, Yapp
IGES import improvements: We have extensive support for the International Geometry Exchange Standard (IGES) with our g-iges and iges-g converters, but they need updating. C HUGE MEDIUM Morrison
Geometry Conversion Library: Probably our biggest open source asset is our extensive collection of importers and exporters. Turn them all into a universal conversion library. C/C++ HUGE EASY Greenwald, Morrison, Rossberg
Voxelize command: Convert geometry into voxel data sets by shooting a grid of rays. The finite element analysis and volumetric rendering folks will love you. C BIG EASY Greenwald, Morrison, Gillich


Geometry Processing Projects

As part of our new GUI development efforts, a lot of code had to be moved out of application space into a library. That library is our geometry editing library, LIBGED. A lot of time, attention, and emphasis is going on there to make sure that all of our core functionality is reusable by applications. More than 100k lines of code have already moved, but there's still a lot more work needed.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
GED Transactions: Migrating functionality from our MGED geometry editor into our LIBGED library provided excellent code reuse, but now we need transactions so that actions can be undone. C HUGE EASY Morrison
Add exec option to search: Our LIBGED library provides a search command very similar to the UNIX find command for scanning through geometry. Implement the -exec option. C HUGE EASY Yapp
Geometry Selection Functionality: Implement a new selection command that lets you temporarily group objects based on spatial, attribute, or geometric properties. C HUGE EASY Morrison
Geometric Constraint Solver: Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships. C/C++ HUGE HARD Morrison
Space Partitioning for Tessellation: Technically an optimization task, make our geometry converters run an order of magnitude faster by using spatial partitioning during tessellation. C BIG HARD Greenwald, Yapp, Morrison
libsvn within Geometry Database Format: Our Geometry Service project provides comprehensive edit history by using a revision control system. Hook our .g database on the backend ftw. C HUGE HARD Yapp
Overlap tool: Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity. Design an awesome interface for resolving conflicts. Tcl HUGE EASY Browder, Yapp, Morrison, Greenwald


Rendering & Analysis Projects

Raytracing is at the heart of all that is BRL-CAD. The 'rt' application was the world's first distributed parallel ray tracer, implemented in early 80's, and it's backed by our powerful LIBRT library. We're the best as full path shotlines (shooting all the way through geometry, not just first hit) and can handle crazy big geometry very efficiently, very fast. It's how we perform geometric analysis, generate images, perform simulations, and more.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Shader Enhancements: We have a functioning custom shader system in BRL-CAD, but there are now folks that specialize and there's lot of room for improvements. C BIG EASY Morrison, Greenwald
Material and Shader Objects: This one is a biggie but easy. Implement new object entities for describing shaders and material properties, use them during ray tracing. C HUGE EASY Morrison
NMG Raytracing Performance Improvement: BRL-CAD's structured mesh geometry (N-Manifold Geometry = NMG) needs some time in a profiler. Malloc during raytracing is bad. C BIG HARD Morrison, Greenwald, Bowman
Generalized abstracted spacial partitioning capability: Need more be said? If you're familiar with BSPs, KD trees, and grid structures, then this one is for you. C HUGE HARD Greenwald, Morrison
High Dynamic Range Support: We don't have displays supporting this yet, but that's never stopped us before. Implement support for images with more than 8-bits per channel. C and/or C++ BIG EASY Greenwald, Yapp
Vector output from raytracing: Huge impact here if you can update one or more of our raytracers to provide vector output instead of raster. Perhaps render directly to PDF or SVG. C and/or C++ HUGE EASY Browder, Rossberg
Analysis Library: There are various tools in BRL-CAD for calculating weights, moments of inertia, and more. They're stand-alone applications. Turn them into a library. C HUGE HARD Yapp, Morrison


Scientific Projects

BRL-CAD has been used to visualize Hubble up in orbit (before it was launched), simulate light transport (multispectral analyses), model Earth's interior layers (education), and much more but there are lots of coding projects that would really help make BRL-CAD more useful for general science a work.

Idea Languages Impact Difficulty Contacts
Astronomical units: We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion... C BIG EASY Morrison, Greenwald
Bending light: Think gravity wells and satellite cameras. C BIG MEDIUM Morrison
Celestial mechanics particle system: Simulate solar systems and galaxies. C/C++ BIG MEDIUM Greenwald
Non-vacuum gravity simulator: Simulate falling to earth. C/C++ BIG MEDIUM Browder, Greenwald, Morrison, Yapp
Polarization: We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects. Implement ray splitting and filtering. C BIG HARD Morrison, Rossberg
Density functions: Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone. Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials. C BIG HARD Rossberg, Morrison, Davsisson


Other Tool Projects

Some of these project ideas aren't as detailed or elaborate as the ones above, but would be interesting and useful nonetheless. Please discuss with us before proposing one of these ideas.


<AN IDEA OF YOUR OWN>

Do you have an idea of your own? Let us know and maybe we'll like it too. We're very open to new ideas, areas of academic research, industry applications, and any other ways that may help get you hooked on BRL-CAD development. Just remember that BRL-CAD is a solid modeling CAD suite so keep that in mind when scoping your project.

Requirements:

  • Passion for the task being suggested
  • Buy-in from one of the existing developers


Mentors

BRL-CAD operates under group mentorship. That means you can contact anyone, not just the person assigned to you, for assistance. The mailing list and IRC channel are the preferred communication methods.

  • Christopher Sean Morrison
    • brlcad on irc.freenode.net
    • Org admin, core dev, open source project lead
  • Erik Greenwald
    • ``Erik on irc.freenode.net
    • Org admin, core dev
  • Cliff Yapp
    • starseeker on irc.freenode.net
    • Mentor, core dev
  • Daniel Rossberg
    • d_rossberg on irc.freenode.net
    • Mentor, core dev, math expert
  • Tom Browder
    • brlcad-devel maling list
    • Mentor, analysis, code support
  • Mike Gillich
    • brlcad-devel mailing list
    • Mentor, tester, analysis
  • Ed Davisson
    • brlcad-devel mailing list
    • Part-time mentor, Math guru extraordinaire
  • Keith Bowman
    • brlcad-devel mailing list
    • Backup mentor, core dev, NURBS guru
  • Richard Weiss
    • brlcad-devel mailing list
    • Backup mentor, NMG info, code support
  • Dave Loman
    • dloman on irc.freenode.net
    • Backup mentor, expert modeler