The control of the hand in primate species is characterized by a high dimensionality, due to the large number of joints in the fingers. In this study we present how its manipulation can be simplified without compromising its usage, through a constraint methodology that is inspired from recent neurobiological findings. We further develop a computational model, consisting of several brain areas related to hand control, using a co-evolutionary architecture. Due to its neurobiological basis the methodology gives rise to a number of emergent properties that have been shown to occur in primate species during reach-to-grasp tasks.
Emmanouil Hourdakis, Michail Maniadakis, Panos E.