<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
(	O
Riyadh	O
University	O
Computer	O
Aided	O
Production	O
System	O
)	O
was	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
aided	I-Application
design	I-Application
(	O
CAD	B-Application
)	O
system	O
for	O
architects	B-Application
,	O
first	O
developed	O
during	O
the	O
1970s	O
and	O
1980s	O
,	O
and	O
today	O
credited	O
as	O
a	O
forerunner	O
of	O
Building	B-Architecture
Information	I-Architecture
Modelling	I-Architecture
(	O
BIM	B-Architecture
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
ran	O
on	O
minicomputers	B-Architecture
from	O
Prime	O
Computer	O
and	O
Digital	O
Equipment	O
Corporation	O
(	O
DEC	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
took	O
their	O
work	O
to	O
architects	B-Application
Gollins	O
Melvin	O
Ward	O
(	O
GMW	O
Architects	B-Application
)	O
in	O
London	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1970s	O
,	O
and	O
developed	O
it	O
whilst	O
working	O
on	O
a	O
project	O
for	O
Riyadh	O
University	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
became	O
the	O
Really	O
Universal	O
Computer	O
Aided	O
Production	O
System	O
(	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
)	O
,	O
and	O
from	O
1977	O
was	O
sold	O
through	O
GMW	O
Computers	O
Ltd	O
in	O
several	O
countries	O
worldwide	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
term	O
'	O
building	O
model	O
 '	O
(	O
in	O
the	O
sense	O
of	O
BIM	B-Architecture
as	O
used	O
today	O
)	O
was	O
first	O
used	O
in	O
papers	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1980s	O
:	O
in	O
a	O
1985	O
paper	O
by	O
Simon	O
Ruffle	O
,	O
and	O
later	O
in	O
a	O
1986	O
paper	O
by	O
Robert	O
Aish	O
-	O
then	O
at	O
GMW	O
Computers	O
-	O
referring	O
to	O
the	O
software	O
's	O
use	O
at	O
London	O
's	O
Heathrow	O
Airport	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
was	O
a	O
significant	O
milestone	O
in	O
the	O
development	O
of	O
building	O
modellers	O
,	O
selling	O
many	O
hundreds	O
of	O
copies	O
during	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
when	O
CAD	B-Application
was	O
rare	O
and	O
expensive	O
,	O
and	O
introducing	O
thousands	O
of	O
architects	B-Application
to	O
computer	B-Application
aided	I-Application
design	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
regarded	O
as	O
a	O
forerunner	O
to	O
today	O
's	O
BIM	B-Architecture
software	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
seen	O
by	O
some	O
writers	O
,	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
:	O
Jerry	O
Laiserin	O
,	O
as	O
the	O
inspiration	O
behind	O
Autodesk	O
's	O
Revit	B-Application
:	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
Autodesk	B-Application
Revit	I-Application
may	O
not	O
contain	O
genomic	O
snippets	O
of	O
Reflex	B-Algorithm
code	O
,	O
Revit	B-Application
clearly	O
is	O
spiritual	O
heir	O
to	O
a	O
lineage	O
of	O
BIM	B-Architecture
"	O
begats	O
"	O
—	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
begat	O
Sonata	B-Algorithm
,	O
Sonata	B-Algorithm
begat	O
Reflex	B-Algorithm
,	O
and	O
Reflex	B-Algorithm
begat	O
Revit	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
was	O
superseded	O
in	O
the	O
mid-late	O
1980s	O
by	O
Sonata	B-Algorithm
,	O
developed	O
by	O
former	O
GMW	O
employee	O
Jonathan	O
Ingram	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ingram	O
then	O
went	O
on	O
to	O
develop	O
Reflex	B-Algorithm
,	O
bought	O
out	O
by	O
Parametric	O
Technology	O
Corporation	O
(	O
PTC	O
)	O
in	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1984	O
,	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
was	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
2½	O
dimensional	O
interactive	O
system	O
,	O
closer	O
to	O
the	O
philosophy	O
of	O
2D	O
interactive	O
systems	O
such	O
as	O
ARK/2	O
or	O
DAISY	O
,	O
and	O
concentrating	O
on	O
the	O
rapid	O
production	O
of	O
2D	O
drawings	O
(	O
plans	O
,	O
elevations	O
and	O
sections	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
During	O
the	O
early	O
1980s	O
,	O
Ingram	O
worked	O
on	O
a	O
supplementary	O
3D	O
file	O
structure	O
for	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
,	O
where	O
,	O
by	O
running	O
a	O
separate	O
program	O
and	O
with	O
manual	O
intervention	O
,	O
a	O
flat	O
3D	O
file	O
could	O
be	O
generated	O
,	O
allowing	O
the	O
production	O
of	O
perspectives	O
and	O
images	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
did	O
carry	O
the	O
'	O
weather	O
vane	O
 '	O
concept	O
from	O
UK-based	O
Applied	O
Research	O
's	O
Building	O
Design	O
System	O
,	O
BDS	O
,	O
now	O
found	O
in	O
most	O
modern	O
BIM	B-Architecture
systems	O
,	O
but	O
did	O
not	O
have	O
interactive	O
3D	O
windows	O
or	O
rule-based	O
language	O
-	O
core	O
characteristics	O
of	O
today	O
's	O
BIM	B-Architecture
applications	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
was	O
a	O
building	O
modelling	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
consisted	O
of	O
38	O
different	O
programs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Mini	B-Architecture
computers	I-Architecture
were	O
used	O
to	O
power	O
the	O
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Most	O
early	O
display	O
screens	O
were	O
monochrome	O
,	O
but	O
later	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
systems	O
were	O
colour	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
was	O
expensive	O
,	O
as	O
was	O
all	O
CAD	B-Application
at	O
the	O
time	O
,	O
so	O
its	O
use	O
was	O
confined	O
to	O
large	O
building	O
projects	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
3D	O
was	O
available	O
in	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
though	O
a	O
totally	O
separate	O
3D	O
modelling	O
and	O
perspective	O
hidden-line	O
program	O
called	O
AUTOPROD	O
written	O
by	O
Col	O
.	O
Nigel	O
Hitch	O
was	O
sold	O
alongside	O
RUCAP	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
was	O
no	O
database	O
or	O
modelling	O
connection	O
of	O
any	O
sort	O
between	O
RUCAPS	B-Algorithm
and	O
AUTOPROD	O
.	O
</s>
