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+ BRL-CAD is a cross platform open source solid modeling system that includes interactive geometry editing, high-performance + ray-tracing for rendering and geometric analysis, a system performance analysis benchmark suite, and geometry libraries + for application developers. Everything is distributed in source code and binary form. Although BRL-CAD can be used for + a wide range of engineering and graphics applications, its main purpose continues to be the support of ballistic and + electromagnetic analyses. BRL-CAD is basically a collection of libraries, tools, and utilities that work together to + create, raytrace, and integrate geometry and manipulate files and data. BRL-CAD is a large system with various portions + under different license but is predominantly distributed as a collective work under the v2.1 LGPL. Most of our data files + and documentation are provided under a modified BSD license or are in the public domain. +
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++ The BRL in BRL-CAD stands for Ballistic Research Laboratory, which is where the project originates. Though BRL was absorbed + into the U.S. Army Research Laboratory in 1992, BRL-CAD has retained its original distinctive name and trademark heritage. +
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+ BRL-CAD was created in 1979 when the U.S. Army Ballistic Research Laboratory expressed a need for tools that could assist
+ with the computer simulation and engineering analysis of combat vehicle systems and environments. When no CAD package was
+ found to be adequate for this purpose, BRL software developers - led by Mike Muuss - began assembling a suite fo utilities
+ capable of interactively displaying, editing, and interrogating geometric models. This suite became known as what you see
+ today - BRL-CAD. Development in BRL-CAD as a package began in 1983, and its first public release was made in 1984. BRL-CAD
+ became an open-source project in December 2004.
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+ The BRL-CAD source code repository is the oldest known public version-controlled codebase in the world still under active
+ developement. It dates back to 1983, resulting in more than 30 years of active development.
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