Difference between revisions of "ESA Summer of Code in Space/Project Ideas"

From BRL-CAD
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The list of possible projects below should serve as a good starting point for new developers that would like to get involved in working on BRL-CAD. The ideas below range from the very hard and math intense to the very easy, see the link to each for more details.  You are also welcome to scale the scope of the project up or down as needed as the ideas suggested below ''are merely starting points''.
+
If you want to work on '''computer-aided design (CAD), geometry, simulation, analysis, or graphics''', you've come to the right place!  Help us improve open source CAx.
  
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{|align="right"
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{|align="center" width="62%"
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  |[[Image:BRL-CAD_Priorities.png|thumb|left|256px|BRL-CAD Priorities]]
+
  |align="center" |[http://brlcad.org/w/index.php?title=Google_Summer_of_Code/Project_Ideas#BRL-CAD_Projects http://brlcad.org/images/logo/cutout_sticker_256.png]
 +
|colspan=2 align="center" |Under development for 30+ years, it's big, it's complicated, it's powerful.  BRL-CAD will consider just about any project that relates to computer graphics or existing infrastructure.
 
  |}
 
  |}
  
−
Be sure to read up on our [[Summer_of_Code/Application_Guidelines|application process]] for getting started with your proposal submission if you have not done so already including our [[Summer_of_Code/Checklist|checklist]].  See the diagram at the bottom of this page for an overview of our major project focus areas.
+
We consider proposals for all skill levels  ranging from simple to crazy hard and everything in between.  [https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/brlcad-devel Introduce yourself], and we'll help you plan one right for you.
  
−
= Project Categories =
+
Remember that project descriptions are just ''initial ideas''.  You must expand with [[Summer_of_Code/Application_Guidelines|considerably more detail]].  Change the goals to fit your experience and interests.  See our '''[[Summer_of_Code/Checklist|checklist]]''' to get started.
  
−
== Geometry Conversion Projects ==
+
'''Project titles link to a page with more details.'''
  
−
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.
+
= BRL-CAD Projects =
  
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
+
== High Priority Topics ==
−
!Idea
+
 
−
!Languages
+
{| bgcolor=#fff width=100%
−
!Impact
+
!
−
!Difficulty
+
!align=center|Languages
 +
!align=center|Difficulty
 +
|-
 +
|align=left width=62%|'''[[Convert MGED from Tk to Qt]]:'''  Transition BRL-CAD's graphical applications from the Tk toolkit to the Qt toolkit. 
 +
|align=center|C/C++/Tcl/Qt
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Annotations]]:'''  Implement support for 2D annotations, labels that can be added to geometry.
 +
|align=center|C/C++
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
 
 +
== Rendering & Scientific Analysis ==
 +
 
 +
{| bgcolor=#fff
 +
!
 +
!align=center|Languages
 +
!align=center|Difficulty
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[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.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|EASY
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[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.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|EASY
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[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.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[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.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|HARD
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[STEP Libraries]]:'''  We took over the NIST STEP Class Library (SCL) project during our development of our g-step exporter.  It needs a lot of cleanup.
+
|width=62%|'''[[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/C++
+
|align=center|C and/or C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[STEP exporter]]:'''  We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry.
+
|width=62%|'''[[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/C++
+
|align=center|C
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|HARD
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[STEP importer improvements]]:'''  We have an importer, but it's preliminary.  Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Celestial mechanics particle system]]:'''  Simulate solar systems and galaxies.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Non-vacuum gravity simulator]]:'''  Simulate falling to earth.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.  
+
|width=62%|'''[[Polarization]]:'''  We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects.  Implement ray splitting and filtering.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|HARD
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Density functions]]:'''  Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone.  Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|HARD
−
|EASY
+
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Bending light]]:'''  Think gravity wells and satellite cameras.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Appleseed renderer integration]]:'''  Appleseed is rendering infrastructure used by the film industry to make pretty pictures.  Make it shoot rays at our native geometry with our ray trace library.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
== Geometry Processing Projects ==
+
== Web Development ==
  
−
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.
+
{| bgcolor=#fff
−
 
+
!
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
+
!align=center|Languages
−
!Idea
+
!align=center|Difficulty
−
!Languages
 
−
!Impact
 
−
!Difficulty
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Benchmark Performance Database]]:''' BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance  across configurations.  Build a database website.  
−
|C
+
|Depends (likely PHP or Python)
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Geometric Constraint Solver]]:'''  Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Materials Database]]:'''  Create a Materials Database web site for collecting, managing, and providing programmatic interfaces to material properties.
−
|C/C++
+
|Depends (likely PHP or Python)
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|HARD
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
== NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) Projects==
+
== Geometry ==
  
−
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.
+
{| bgcolor=#fff width=100%
−
 
+
!
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
+
!align=center|Languages
−
!Idea
+
!align=center|Difficulty
−
!Languages
+
|-
−
!Impact
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[NURBS Editing Support]]:'''  BRL-CAD doesn't currently have support for editing NURBS primitives.  Fix that.
−
!Difficulty
+
|align=center|C/Tcl
 +
|align=center|MEDIUM
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Overlap tool]]:''' Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity.  Design an awesome GUI for resolving conflicts.
 +
|align=center|Tcl
 +
|align=center|EASY
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[Vector Drawings from NURBS]]:'''  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/C++
+
|align=center|C and/or C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|HARD
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[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++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|HARD
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[STEP exporter]]:'''  We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Plate Mode NURBS raytracing]]:'''  Imported NURBS geometry often does NOT enclose space (i.e., not solid), so add support for specifying an implicit thickness.
+
|width=62%|'''[[STEP importer improvements]]:'''  We have an importer, but it's preliminary. Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|HARD
+
|-
−
|}
+
|width=62%|'''[[STEP AP 242 Parser]]:'''  We already parse a subset of AP203, but the new kid on the block is AP242.  Make AP242 work with BRL-CAD's step-g importer.  
−
 
+
|align=center|C++
−
 
+
|align=center|HARD
−
== 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.  
 
−
 
 
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
−
!Idea
 
−
!Languages
 
−
!Impact
 
−
!Difficulty
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Code Reduction]]:'''  BRL-CAD is more than 1M lines of code.  Approximately 10% of that is duplication.  Help reduce that percentage.
+
|width=62%|'''[[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
+
|align=center|C
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Consolidate image processing]]:'''  We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data.  Needs much reuse love.
+
|width=62%|'''[[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
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Fix Bugs]]:'''  We take pride in our breadth of functionality and time-tested stability.  We still have bugs. Identify some and fix 'em!
+
|width=62%|'''[[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
+
|align=center|C
−
|DEPENDS
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|EASY
 
−
|}
 
−
 
 
−
 
 
−
== 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.
 
−
 
 
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
 
−
!Idea
 
−
!Languages
 
−
!Impact
 
−
!Difficulty
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[COLLADA Importer]]:'''  Create an importer for the COLLADA file format.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[X3D Importer]]:'''  Create an importer for the X3D file format.
−
|C/C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[OpenSCAD Importer]]:'''  Create an importer for OpenSCAD's format.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|width=62%|'''[[OpenSCAD Exporter]]:'''  Create an exporter for OpenSCAD's format.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|EASY
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
== Rendering & Analysis Projects ==
+
== Performance & Quality ==
  
−
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.
+
{| bgcolor=#fff
−
 
+
!
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
+
!align=center|Languages
−
!Idea
+
!align=center|Difficulty
−
!Languages
 
−
!Impact
 
−
!Difficulty
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[OpenCL GPGPU Raytracing]]:''' We have about two dozen primitives that need to have a ray-object intersection function converted from C to OpenCL.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[Coherent Raytracing]]:''' Our current raytrace pipeline dispatches and processes one ray at a time.  Send bundles and convert the pipeline into phases.  
−
|C and/or C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[NURBS Booleans]]:'''  We have NURBS surface-surface intersections working.  Now we're using them to create evaluated forms of our CSG geometry.  Make it more robust and faster.
−
|C and/or C++
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|HARD
−
|EASY
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[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.
+
|align=left width=62%|'''[[NURBS Optimization and Cleanup]]:'''  We have a fantastic implementation of NURBS evaluation but haven't gone back to clean up or speed it up.  Make it pretty and fast.
−
|C
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|HUGE
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|HARD
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
== Web Development Projects ==
+
== Infrastructure ==
  
−
We're generally less interested in web development projects because the developer rarely sticks 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 this summer is over (i.e., joining the project) and are willing to make a long-term commitment to BRL-CAD, then we welcome your web development project idea.
+
{| bgcolor=#fff
−
 
+
!
−
{| border=1 bgcolor=#444444
+
!align=center|Languages
−
!Idea
+
!align=center|Difficulty
−
!Languages
+
|-
−
!Impact
+
|width=62%|'''[[Geometric Constraint Solver]]:'''  Our LIBPC parametric constraint library is the work-in-progress foundation of being able to validate and describe geometry relationships.
−
!Difficulty
+
|align=center|C/C++
 +
|align=center|HARD
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Consolidate image processing]]:'''  We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data.  Needs much reuse love.
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|EASY
 +
|-
 +
|width=62%|'''[[Astronomical units]]:'''  We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion...
 +
|align=center|C
 +
|align=center|EASY
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Materials Database]]:'''  Create a Materials Database web site for collecting, managing, and providing programmatic interfaces to material properties.
+
|width=62%|'''[[Point Clouds]]:'''  BRL-CAD has a basic point cloud primitive.  Beef it up, make it faster, maybe integrate with the Point Cloud Library (PCL) for evaluation.
−
|Depends
+
|align=center|C/C++
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|MEDIUM
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|-
 
|-
−
|'''[[Benchmark Performance Database]]:'''  BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance  across configurations.  Build a database website.  
+
|width=62%|'''[[Annotations]]:'''  Implement support for 2D annotations, labels that can be added to geometry.
−
|Depends
+
|align=center|Perl
−
|BIG
+
|align=center|EASY
−
|MEDIUM
 
 
|}
 
|}
  
  
−
== <AN IDEA OF YOUR OWN> ==
+
== <An Idea of Your Own> ==
  
−
Do you have an idea of your own? [[Mailing Lists|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.  
+
Do you have an idea of your own? Maybe you need [http://brlcad.org/~sean/ideas.html more ideas] to inspire you? We're very open to areas of academic research, industry applications, and ideas that get you hooked on open source CAD development.
  
 
Requirements:
 
Requirements:
  
−
*Passion for the task being suggested
+
* Passion for the task being suggested
−
*Buy-in from one of the existing developers
 
  
  
 
= Mentors =
 
= 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.
+
Contact Sean on the brlcad-devel mailing list or via IRC to begin discussing your SOCIS project proposal:
  
 
* Christopher Sean Morrison
 
* Christopher Sean Morrison
 
** brlcad on irc.freenode.net
 
** 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
 
−
 
−
* Dave Loman
 
−
** dloman on irc.freenode.net
 
−
** Mentor, expert modeler
 
−
 
−
* Ed Davisson
 
−
** brlcad-devel mailing list
 
−
** Part-time mentor, Math guru extraordinaire
 
−
 
−
* Keith Bowman
 
−
** brlcad-devel mailing list
 
−
** Part-time mentor, core dev, NURBS guru
 
−
 
−
* Tom Browder
 
−
** brlcad-devel maling list
 
−
** Part-time mentor, analysis, code support
 
−
 
−
* Richard Weiss
 
−
** brlcad-devel mailing list
 
−
** Part-time mentor, NMG info, code support
 

Latest revision as of 22:05, 3 May 2017

If you want to work on computer-aided design (CAD), geometry, simulation, analysis, or graphics, you've come to the right place! Help us improve open source CAx.

cutout_sticker_256.png Under development for 30+ years, it's big, it's complicated, it's powerful. BRL-CAD will consider just about any project that relates to computer graphics or existing infrastructure.

We consider proposals for all skill levels ranging from simple to crazy hard and everything in between. Introduce yourself, and we'll help you plan one right for you.

Remember that project descriptions are just initial ideas. You must expand with considerably more detail. Change the goals to fit your experience and interests. See our checklist to get started.

Project titles link to a page with more details.

BRL-CAD Projects[edit]

High Priority Topics[edit]

Languages Difficulty
Convert MGED from Tk to Qt: Transition BRL-CAD's graphical applications from the Tk toolkit to the Qt toolkit. C/C++/Tcl/Qt MEDIUM
Annotations: Implement support for 2D annotations, labels that can be added to geometry. C/C++ MEDIUM


Rendering & Scientific Analysis[edit]

Languages Difficulty
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 EASY
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 EASY
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 MEDIUM
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 HARD
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++ EASY
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 HARD
Celestial mechanics particle system: Simulate solar systems and galaxies. C/C++ MEDIUM
Non-vacuum gravity simulator: Simulate falling to earth. C/C++ MEDIUM
Polarization: We already do multispectral ray tracing, but don't simulate polarization effects. Implement ray splitting and filtering. C HARD
Density functions: Accurately represent everything from atmosphere to bone. Implement support for parametric density functions for homogenous materials. C HARD
Bending light: Think gravity wells and satellite cameras. C MEDIUM
Appleseed renderer integration: Appleseed is rendering infrastructure used by the film industry to make pretty pictures. Make it shoot rays at our native geometry with our ray trace library. C MEDIUM


Web Development[edit]

Languages Difficulty
Benchmark Performance Database: BRL-CAD's Benchmark has been used for two decades to compare performance across configurations. Build a database website. Depends (likely PHP or Python) EASY
Materials Database: Create a Materials Database web site for collecting, managing, and providing programmatic interfaces to material properties. Depends (likely PHP or Python) MEDIUM


Geometry[edit]

Languages Difficulty
NURBS Editing Support: BRL-CAD doesn't currently have support for editing NURBS primitives. Fix that. C/Tcl MEDIUM
Overlap tool: Resolving geometric interferences (aka overlaps) is a common geometry editing activity. Design an awesome GUI for resolving conflicts. Tcl EASY
Vector Drawings from NURBS: 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++ EASY
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++ HARD
STEP exporter: We have an importer, we need a comprehensive exporter with support for implicit CSG, NURBS, or polygonal mesh geometry. C/C++ EASY
STEP importer improvements: We have an importer, but it's preliminary. Add support for importing hierarchy information, polygonal geometry, and implicit geometry. C/C++ MEDIUM
STEP AP 242 Parser: We already parse a subset of AP203, but the new kid on the block is AP242. Make AP242 work with BRL-CAD's step-g importer. C++ HARD
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 MEDIUM
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++ EASY
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 EASY
COLLADA Importer: Create an importer for the COLLADA file format. C/C++ MEDIUM
X3D Importer: Create an importer for the X3D file format. C/C++ MEDIUM
OpenSCAD Importer: Create an importer for OpenSCAD's format. C/C++ EASY
OpenSCAD Exporter: Create an exporter for OpenSCAD's format. C/C++ EASY


Performance & Quality[edit]

Languages Difficulty
OpenCL GPGPU Raytracing: We have about two dozen primitives that need to have a ray-object intersection function converted from C to OpenCL. C/C++ MEDIUM
Coherent Raytracing: Our current raytrace pipeline dispatches and processes one ray at a time. Send bundles and convert the pipeline into phases. C/C++ MEDIUM
NURBS Booleans: We have NURBS surface-surface intersections working. Now we're using them to create evaluated forms of our CSG geometry. Make it more robust and faster. C/C++ HARD
NURBS Optimization and Cleanup: We have a fantastic implementation of NURBS evaluation but haven't gone back to clean up or speed it up. Make it pretty and fast. C/C++ MEDIUM


Infrastructure[edit]

Languages Difficulty
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++ HARD
Consolidate image processing: We have 100+ image processing tools that independently read and write file data. Needs much reuse love. C EASY
Astronomical units: We already go "big", but accurately modeling at a galactic scale redefines that notion... C EASY
Point Clouds: BRL-CAD has a basic point cloud primitive. Beef it up, make it faster, maybe integrate with the Point Cloud Library (PCL) for evaluation. C/C++ MEDIUM
Annotations: Implement support for 2D annotations, labels that can be added to geometry. Perl EASY


<An Idea of Your Own>[edit]

Do you have an idea of your own? Maybe you need more ideas to inspire you? We're very open to areas of academic research, industry applications, and ideas that get you hooked on open source CAD development.

Requirements:

  • Passion for the task being suggested


Mentors[edit]

Contact Sean on the brlcad-devel mailing list or via IRC to begin discussing your SOCIS project proposal:

  • Christopher Sean Morrison
    • brlcad on irc.freenode.net
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