Bio-prosthetic avian vocal organ based on a model of the biomechanics

EZEQUIEL M. ARNEODO; YONATAN SANZ PERL; FRANZ GOLLER; GABRIEL B. MINDLIN

Ann Arbor, MI

Conferencia; 12th Experimental Chaos and Complexity Conference; 2012

The complex vocalizations composing birdsong emerge from the interaction between the nervous system and a nonlinear peripheral device, its vocal organ. It is an area of intensive work to elucidate how much of the complexity of it is due to the huge dimensionality of the dynamics of the nervous system, and how much due to the mechanical response of the periphery. This last point is of particular interest for applied physics, as biomechanic systems used by living things are overwhelmingly non-linear, and capable of presenting complex behavior even as a response to simple instructions. We present a bioprosthetic device based on a model for the zebra finch vocal organ, which is capable of producing the subtleties present in the actual song of the birds. This model is simple to the extent that its solution can be computed by digital signal processors (DSP), when driven by actual physiological motor instructions fed by a freely behaving subject. This allows for the design of a new strategy for biomimetic prosthetics: real-time integration of simple models, controlled by few physiological signals.