# Key Technical and Conceptual Points from #hplusroadmap

• SKDB (Open-Source Hardware Package Manager) development is progressing with contributors implementing interface definitions for Lego parts, including coordinate systems for mating surfaces and CAD models in STEP format, with the PyMates component being enhanced to handle orientation vectors for proper 3D geometric mating.

• Brain mapping efforts are underway to catalog neuroanatomical regions and their coordinates using tools like FreeSurfer, with structured data being stored in formats like "human_brain.yaml."

• The community is comparing energy storage technologies, specifically EEStor's capacitor technology versus graphene ultracapacitors from University of Texas at Austin, with skepticism about EEStor's claims.

• Synthetic biology was debated, with some participants defining it as creating "reusable genetic devices, parts, and systems" while others questioned its practical applications beyond academic interest.

• Computational modeling of physical systems is a recurring theme, with discussions about visualizing and testing LEGO component combinations before physical assembly, including sharing of Theo Jansen walking mechanisms implemented in LEGO.

• Microfluidics was explored as a potential application area for graph grammar modeling, with participants noting the complex interactions where "some amplifiers stop working when loaded to a certain degree."

• Bio::Robotics package in BioPerl was highlighted as a tool for controlling laboratory automation systems like Tecan pipetting robots, suggesting interest in open-source lab automation.