Model of human intelligence/Body

Appearance is a quick and powerful method to imitate human being. Both body and face are entirely visible and therefore easy to semi-automatically map and reproduce up to fine details. Uniqueness and identity of every individual can be created by adding some configurable parameters to the model. Appearance approximation doesn't need to be exact in order to generate sympathies. This page describes various body features that are not as obvious as superficial appearance. Many of these features are missing from contemporary robots which severely limits robot's performance and perceived intelligence.

Physical properties

Tissues in human body have some measurable properties which make things easier for people and therefore simplify the intelligence people need. These physical properties vary between tissues and parts of tissues. They can be however approximated by spatial map that can be constructed for every tissue and every physical property.

• flexibility - Skin, fat, muscles, and many internal organs are flexible. This makes it much easier to perform movements, hold things, tolerate impacts, and assemble the body in the first place.
• elasticity - Many tissues are highly pull-elastic like springs which improves shock absorption, error tolerance, force control, and fine manipulation tasks. Elasticity is essential for energy efficiency during walking and running.
• water-, air-, and dust-tight - This has some limitations, but under normal circumstances, human body is protected from contamination. It is safe to manipulate wide range of objects and to enter wide range of environments.
• skin surface friction - Includes ridges on fingers which increase friction. Makes it easy to grasp things.
• weight - Human body has about the same density as water. Relatively low weight makes it easier to move around.

Metabolism

Metabolism is largely out of scope of this project, but certain metabolic abilities contribute to intelligent behavior. Metabolism is not a passive material property. It is microscopic activity either chemical or biological. True metabolism would severely shorten shelf life of robots and significantly complicate their design and development, but it seems that abilities provided through metabolism can be also provided through macroscopic features or good selection of materials and technologies.

• energy efficiency - Allows highly active lifestyle as well as very detailed computations.
• weight efficiency - This means that individual body functions need little infrastructure to do their job which makes it possible to carry around everything needed for life without limiting mobility or apparent strength.
• energy storage - Several days worth of hydrocarbon energy storage allow unrestricted mobility and lifestyle independent of energy sources.
• force range - Muscles can generate wide range of forces which allows switching between high efficiency and high strength depending on circumstances.
• self-repair - Quick self-healing allows more errors in behavior. It also allows more aggressive self-damaging behavior as far as it is later compensated with rest.
• self-cleaning - Both internal and external cleaning provide benefits similar to self-repair.
• temperature control - Includes heat generation and cooling through perspiration. Expands range of tolerated environments and range of possible activities. Helps to recognize self and other people at some basic level.
• liquid processes - It is hard to imagine processes like temperature control or self-cleaning without liquids. Ability to store and process liquids contributes to all other metabolic processes.

Skeletal structure

Skeletal structure includes list of joints, lengths and shapes of bones attached to joints, range of movements per joint, locations where muscles are attached to bones and skin, muscle shapes, and relative muscle strengths. Corresponding map can be developed that describes all these features. Accurate replication of human body and face mechanics is mostly necessary for social compatibility, but several body features appear to have evolved specifically to encourage intelligent behavior. Knowing about these features is useful when developing robot with less than exact reproduction of skeletal structure.

• opposing thumb - Aid for tool use.
• long fingers - Allow easier manipulation, especially with tools.
• opposing arms - Allow manipulation of an object with two arms at the same time. Part of lap workspace.
• lap workspace - Area where both arms can comfortably reach. Close to the eyes and mouth. Close to ground or table when sitting. Low energy consumption when sitting. Arms can move freely in and out of the workspace without bumping into anything.
• stacked bones - Make it possible to walk and stand with little energy consumption. Yet they allow passing of difficult terrain.
• head/eye rotation - Allows quick change of attention without moving the rest of the body.

Senses

While output hardware is quite simple (motion and voice), sensory input is quite varied and detailed. Every sense may be sensitive to several different types of signals. Every signal may have variable resolution that can be described with a map.

• time - Although no specialized organ exists for sensing time, people nevertheless estimate intervals of a few seconds or minutes quite accurately. Additionally, people have fairly accurate daily (circadian) clock plus several other long-term clocks in various organs. Nevertheless, time of memories seems to be completely inferred from circumstances. Time is surprisingly useful for prediction, habit forming, and performing learned procedures. Time can often replace other more complex senses when combined with predictive abilities.
• acceleration - Vestibular system in inner ear can detect rotary and linear accelerations in all 6 degrees of freedom. It can sense direction of gravitation. Acceleration sensing is essential for balance. Eyes use acceleration information to counteract head movements.
• stretch - Stretch receptors in muscles and ligaments work like position sensors when combined with some experience. They allow accurate positioning without use of the eyes. They seem to be the primary feedback mechanism guiding learned movements. Stretch receptors are essential for force control and gentle touch. They also have a side role in voice tone control.
• touch - This is a combination of pressure, skin stretch, vibration, temperature, and local intoxication sensing. It includes pain sensation triggered when any of these inputs crosses certain threshold. Touch is essential for safety, accurate movement, and for firm grip.
• hearing - Human ear is a kind of microphone except for the high loudness and frequency range. Two ears help sound localization. Irregular ears shape sounds differently for every direction which further helps with sound localization. Hearing is mostly useful for conversation and for directing attention.
• sight - Eyes have separate brightness and color sensing with adjustable focus, wide view angle, shifting dynamic range window, and image stabilization through object tracking and counteracting accelerations. Two eyes can perceive depth. Sight is a versatile tool, used for awareness and classification of situations, for many communication techniques, for mapping and navigation, and for object manipulation, identification, and analysis.
• organ senses - Various senses reporting state of internal organs and internal processes. These make sure people care about themselves without being trained to do so.
• smell and taste - Simple but powerful chemical identification of objects, materials, places, and people.

Other

• aggregate function - When macroscopic function is just a combination of microscopic processes, small damage results in small reduction of function. This improves tolerance to mistakes.

Open issues

• Linkify.