# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Conversation

• Kanzure successfully integrated OpenNURBS with Python using SWIG after troubleshooting various compiler errors and linking issues, creating functional Python bindings for this NURBS visualization library.

• The SKDB project was discussed as a standard for hardware packages containing metadata, CAD files, and algorithms, with Kanzure mentioning efforts to scrape Thingiverse to create SKDB-like packages despite challenges with naming conventions and prevalence of mesh files over parametric CAD.

• Computational challenges of combining parts in SKDB were highlighted, noting that with 100 parts and N contact points, there are N^100 possible combinations, with collision detection implemented for Lego brick assembly demonstrations.

• Reeb graphs were discussed as a method for shape analysis and geometry matching that could efficiently find appropriate parts in large databases by breaking 3D models into skeleton structures for graph similarity matching.

• Fenn reported on a Quantified Self meeting featuring Gordon Moore (Microsoft Research) and Randal Koene (minduploading.org/carboncopies.org), where Koene demonstrated a dependency-tree based task management system.

• Randal Koene's upcoming "Advancing Substrate-Independent Minds" workshop (August 16-17, 2010) was mentioned, focusing on mind uploading research at carboncopies.org/workshop2.

• The group discussed DNA sequencing costs, referencing Harvard's DNA Core facility charging approximately $4.87 per sample for 400-600bp sequencing.