The human brain functions at a level beyond any other brain in all of creation. With mankind being made in the image of God, there must be signatures of this fact in its design. Modeling the human brain that develops an architectural framework offers the potential to unpack this reality. This premise offers a rich area to explore that expands the creation model to capture the engineering framework God used in creation. This paper will focus on brain neurons and neural networks using systems engineering modeling tools.
The systems modeling language (SysML) will be used to capture a model of neuron systems and neural network architectures. These topics can get highly complex. The goal is to generate valuable systems engineering models that can shed light on the state-of-the-art understanding of neurons and neural networks and offer perspectives on what should be focused on in future biomimicry endeavors. Two major themes will be explored in this paper, (1) analyzing the biological neuron and developing a functional model at several levels of detail, and (2) exploring neuromorphic computing and characterizing how it is done in biological systems versus human architected systems.
The human brain is the gold standard that engineers seek to emulate on many levels. What areas in biomimicry for brain neuromorphic processing can be improved and why? Answering this question will require exploring and capturing the system biology models and architecture patterns. Unfortunately, this can quickly get very complex. Using systems engineering methods, the goal is to capture the significant drivers of the architectural approach to the level that is required to provide improved guidance for future work. This will be accomplished by utilizing engineering methods and processes toward the biological systems of neurons and brain neural networks.
There is plenty of interest in modeling hardware and computer architectures after brain computing paradigms. Even with all the advancements in the computer, software, artificial intelligence, and machine learning industries, they fall short of what can be done by cognitive human brain activity. Given extensive data center class computing resources, some functionality can be replicated but at a considerable energy impact. To move towards the next level of effective biomimicry of brain computing, a worthwhile endeavor is to look closer at the biological system architecture at all levels to ensure a proper understanding of its function is well documented. The brain is highly complex and, for the most part, inaccessible in its protective cranial enclosure. While it is operational, direct access is impossible except when invasive brain surgery techniques are used.