Rhinoceros is a stand-alone, commercial NURBS-based 3-D modeling

3D modeling

In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...

 tool, developed by Robert McNeel & Associates. The software is commonly used for industrial design

Industrial design

Industrial design is the use of a combination of applied art and applied science to improve the aesthetics, ergonomics, and usability of a product, but it may also be used to improve the product's marketability and production...

, architecture

Architecture

Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...

, marine design, jewelry design

Jewelry design

Jewelry design is the art or profession of creating, crafting, fabricating, or rendering designs for jewelry. This is an ancient practice of the goldsmith or metalworker that evolved to a billion-dollar industry with the odyssey from ancient cultures into the machine age...

, automotive design

Automotive design

Automotive design is the profession involved in the development of the appearance, and to some extent the ergonomics, of motor vehicles or more specifically road vehicles. This most commonly refers to automobiles but also refers to motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans...

, CAD

Computer-aided design

Computer-aided design , also known as computer-aided design and drafting , is the use of computer technology for the process of design and design-documentation. Computer Aided Drafting describes the process of drafting with a computer...

 / CAM

Computer-aided manufacturing

Computer-aided manufacturing is the use of computer software to control machine tools and related machinery in the manufacturing of workpieces. This is not the only definition for CAM, but it is the most common; CAM may also refer to the use of a computer to assist in all operations of a...

, rapid prototyping

Rapid prototyping

Rapid prototyping is the automatic construction of physical objects using additive manufacturing technology. The first techniques for rapid prototyping became available in the late 1980s and were used to produce models and prototype parts. Today, they are used for a much wider range of applications...

, reverse engineering

Reverse engineering

Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...

 as well as the multimedia

Multimedia

Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...

 and graphic design

Graphic design

Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...

 industries.

Rhino specializes in free-form non-uniform rational B-spline (NURBS) modeling. Plug-ins developed by McNeel include Flamingo

Flamingo (raytracer)

Flamingo is a plugin for the Rhinoceros 3D modelling software which adds raytracing and radiosity functionality. It is developed by the creators of Rhinoceros, Robert McNeel & Associates and sold both separately and as a bundle with the Rhinoceros software....

 (raytrace rendering), Penguin (non-photorealistic rendering), Bongo, and Brazil (advanced rendering).