Modelling Study

The human body contains a complex system of organs which are dependant on each other and can be affected by external sources. The aim of this model is not only teach students about the different organs and what they do, but to make the student socially aware of the effects of external factors on the body such as smoke and alcohol.

The model will have an interface which illustrates the insides of a human body, exposing the internal organs. The user can then click on a part of the body and choose to interact with it. They may want to remove that organ, or observe its status and its dependencies or perhaps add a particular chemical to that organ. Visible at all times will be health monitors for the major organs and the overall health of the body. This way, the student can observe how long it takes for an organ to be affected. The tools to change external factors affecting the body will also be provided. By way of investigation, the student is therefore learning about the body.

The scope of this model is endless and there are a number of ways to implement it. Initially, a large dependency list could be created which would dictate how different organs were affected by each other and how external factors affect the organs. This could easily be done using the DMT tool. To further expand this problem, an LSD specification could be written for the organs meaning that each organ and affecting factor is an agent. These agents would all be closely linked through dependencies and could perhaps be assigned particular jobs. Hence, a throat agent would know to pass air to the lungs and liquids and solids to the stomach.

EM fits this problem very well due to the support it has for dependencies. This provides scope for easily extending the model and would mean that the whole model in its entire complexity does not have to be completed at once by one person. To further fit in with EM philosophies, the model may be chosen to be extended to include effects of the state of mind of an individual. A happy person may have a steady and health heartbeat whereas a person under stress may have a faster heartbeat.

It can be left up to the designer how much of this model will remain on paper and how much will be modelled in EM. The complexity of the problem is also variable so the designer can choose to omit organs or features depending on the time he has to complete the project.