  Among the infinite number of possible movements that can be produced, humans
are commonly assumed to choose those that optimize criteria such as minimizing
movement time, subject to certain movement constraints like signal-dependent
and constant motor noise. While so far these assumptions have only been
evaluated for simplified point-mass or planar models, we address the question
of whether they can predict reaching movements in a full skeletal model of the
human upper extremity. We learn a control policy using a motor babbling
approach as implemented in reinforcement learning, using aimed movements of the
tip of the right index finger towards randomly placed 3D targets of varying
size. We use a state-of-the-art biomechanical model, which includes seven
actuated degrees of freedom. To deal with the curse of dimensionality, we use a
simplified second-order muscle model, acting at each degree of freedom instead
of individual muscles. The results confirm that the assumptions of
signal-dependent and constant motor noise, together with the objective of
movement time minimization, are sufficient for a state-of-the-art skeletal
model of the human upper extremity to reproduce complex phenomena of human
movement, in particular Fitts' Law and the 2/3 Power Law. This result supports
the notion that control of the complex human biomechanical system can plausibly
be determined by a set of simple assumptions and can easily be learned.
