# Summary of ##hplusroadmap IRC Log (July 15, 2013)

• A paper on "Neural Dust" was shared, describing an ultrasonic, low-power solution for chronic brain-machine interfaces that uses thousands of microscale free-floating sensor nodes to detect and report local extracellular electrophysiological data.

• An OpenWorm progress document was shared, showing recent developments in the project that aims to create a complete simulation of the C. elegans nematode.

• A TapsterBot project was mentioned (GitHub link shared), which appears to be a robotic system for mobile device testing, though kanzure noted a preference for software-based testing via monkeyrunner.

• Information about Eugene microgrants was discussed, noting they provide $5k with 20% going to the lab ($4k to recipients), with funding originating from Life Technologies and reportedly no IP issues.

• BRL-CAD (open source solid modeling system) achieved a significant technical milestone with the implementation of point-surface and surface-surface intersection capabilities, with kanzure suggesting the need for better language bindings and wrappers.

• Discussion of NURBS (Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines) mathematics occurred, with participants noting the complexity of the underlying mathematics versus the relative ease of using NURBS in CAD applications.