# Key Points from #hplusroadmap IRC Discussions

* The Consumer Products Inventory (nanotechproject.org/cpi) was shared as a resource for tracking nanotechnology-based consumer products currently on the market.

* Multiple MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) research papers were discussed, covering electromagnetic motion stages, fluidic obstacles for cell lysis, and micromirrors, demonstrating interest in microscale engineering applications.

* The SUGAR simulation tool was highlighted as a valuable resource for MEMS device modeling, using nodal analysis techniques adapted from integrated circuit simulation.

* Pricing information for Multi-User MEMS Processes (MUMPs) was shared ($5,800 for 15 dies, $8,800 for 45 dies), indicating the cost barriers for standardized MEMS fabrication.

* Microfluidics technologies were examined, including resistive-heater bubble valves and cost considerations for components like air pumps and pressure sensors for PDMS valves ($2-11 per component).

* Privacy tools including Mixminion (an anonymous remailer system) and "anonget" were referenced, showing ongoing interest in anonymity technologies within the transhumanist community.

* A brief debate compared encoding standards ASN.1 and Google Protocol Buffers, with the observation that Protocol Buffers appeared to reinvent solutions that ASN.1 had established decades earlier.