8.6 General IPS model

After this extremely brief presentation of the generic structure of two IPS types, the natural neuronal⁶3 and the artificial ones, no matter how bizarre would seem to be, we must notice that there are common elements between these realizable IPS classes which can form a general model of these MS types. However, a very significant specification is needed at the beginning: both the natural and artificial IPS are a subclass of the material systems, therefore, they are systems with the materiality acquired from the support abiotic systems, with all the specific attributes of the abiotic MS, at which the specific attributes of IPS is added. From the complexity point of view (structural level), IPS are however extremely complex systems as compared to the systems which make-up their generating set - the abiotic systems.

Based on the structural descriptions of the two above-mentioned IPS types, we may now draw out the common components of the two system types:

1. Existence of a RBS (just like for any MS) which defines (separates) the internal and the external side of the system.

2. There are specialized transfer zones on this RBS which have a defined area and an invariant location against the internal spatial reference, through which controlled flux transfers can be made. Specialized zone means a RBS portion whose permeability (transmittance) is selective at a specific flux type and this permeability can be controlled inside the IPS. These zones belong to the input/output units of IPS.

3. Inside IPS, there is a special class of MS, namely the internal information support systems (ISS), systems whose properties may be detected by IPS, strictly depending on the properties of the fluxes received by the input units.

4. Also inside IPS, there is a sub-system known as the information processing unit which has the following specific features:

1. Capacity to detect (perceive, determine) the specific property of an internal ISS (property which is the representation of a property perceived from an external IPS object) and to distinguish between two different values of this property.

2. Capacity to modify this property according to specific rules, by also modifying the information contained into ISS.

3. Capacity to perceive a temporal succession (distribution) of the values associated to two input ISS, otherwise speaking, to make a difference between a previous and a present value.

5. Another essential sub-system of IPS is the storage unit of ISS (IPS memory), to which the processing unit has access to. This unit stores the entire information amount received during the functional operation of IPS.

6. An ISS circulation (fluxes) is required between all the IPS’s internal sub-systems, therefore, some communication ways for guiding these internal fluxes must exist. For avoiding the losses along the route, these fluxes must have a constant effective section (isotom fluxes).

7. The maintenance of the internal ISS fluxes and of the functional fluxes belonging to IPS components, which is a sine qua non condition for its operation, determines the need for an additional energy supply over the normal energy demand of the abiotic support from which the IPS sub-systems are made of. This additional energy is obtained from the second level supply fluxes (the first level is for the supply of abiotic MS), and these are fluxes provided by the host material system (in case of the bio-systems) or by special supply systems (in case of AIPS).

According to the above-mentioned issues, the general model of IPS which is proposed by the objectual philosophy, valid both for the natural and artificial IPS, is made-up from the following material sub-systems:

1. Input units, which convert the incident external fluxes from the specialized zones of RBS into corresponding internal ISS fluxes;

2. Output units, which make the reverse conversion, from the internal ISS fluxes into emergent and transmissible fluxes outside IPS;

3. Internal communication system, which provides the canalization of the internal ISS fluxes;

4. Information processing units, able to perceive the internal ISS structure and to operate with this structure according to the information processing rules specific to a certain IPS;

5. The organized set of the internal ISS, the generating set of information carrier ISS¹, organized as an invariant object named memory;

6. The second level energy supply units.

The understanding of this IPS general model cannot be clearly achieved without to explain what are the information support systems, this MS class without whom the existence of any information processing operation would not be possible.

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INDEX

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