The same embodiment reference
Assume two systems read the same Galatea reference, with no change to the underlying form, surface, or motion data.
Embodiment Standard
Galatea Standard
Galatea Standard uses a traceable embodiment reference to describe bodily form, surfaces, motion, and related sensory features so different systems can compare or reproduce the same reference under declared conditions.
First-time readers can begin with embodiment references and the three conformance concepts; the specification index and developer resources below can be skipped at first.
Reader Layer
In 30 Seconds: Why Is One Photograph Not Enough to Describe a Body?
A photograph preserves one viewing result. An embodiment reference also preserves the bodily data, observation conditions, and provenance needed to produce and compare that result.
An embodiment reference is a set of data used to describe, compare, or reproduce bodily form, proportions, surfaces, motion, and related sensory features while preserving measurement, viewing, calibration, provenance, and rights conditions. Its purpose is not to declare “this is the same person,” but to let systems know which embodiment data they are comparing and under which conditions.
A portrait changes with angle, lens, lighting, exposure, distance, camera, and image processing. Galatea Standard therefore records more than what a body “looks like”: form, proportions, surfaces, motion, scent / chemosensory references, viewing / capture conditions, calibration, provenance, and rights. These records can support comparison and reproduction, but they cannot by themselves prove personhood identity, memory, consciousness, or first-person continuity.
Three Conformance Concepts
Three Kinds of “Same” Answer Three Different Questions
Galatea does not collapse identical data, matching rendered output, and a conforming physical embodiment into one judgment.
| Comparison layer | Formal term | Question for the reader |
|---|---|---|
| Data identity | Data Identity | Are the standardized data identical? |
| Reference-render identity | Reference Render Identity | Under the declared decoder / renderer and viewing conditions, does the output meet the same reference judgment? |
| Physical embodiment conformance | Physical Embodiment Conformance | Does the physical carrier fall within the applicable specification and tolerance range? |
Passing one does not substitute for the other two. Identical data does not guarantee that every renderer will produce an identical image. A matching image under declared conditions does not prove that a physical embodiment has passed its own tolerance test. None of the three can be collapsed into a conclusion that two instances are necessarily the same person.
Teaching Example
Teaching Example: Change the Conditions, Change the Interpretation
Separate presentation conditions from reference data before deciding where a difference comes from.
Different lens and light
System A uses a close viewpoint and soft light. System B uses a different focal length, viewing position, and high-contrast lighting. The resulting images may look substantially different.
Check conditions before blaming the data
Compare L-View viewing / capture conditions and C-Cal calibration records first, then decide whether the difference comes from presentation conditions or from the reference itself.
This is a teaching illustration, not measurement or conformance evidence. Formal judgments still follow the applicable rules in Calibration, Measurement, and Viewing Conditions and Conformance Evaluation.
Reader Path
Shortest Reading Path for General Readers
You do not need all fifteen topics before you can understand Galatea's purpose and limits.
- Start with embodiment references and the three conformance concepts on this page.
- To understand why appearance changes with conditions, read Calibration, Measurement, and Viewing Conditions.
- To understand how “same” is formally judged, read Three Conformance Concepts and Conformance Evaluation.
- To understand capture, training, replication, or physical instantiation rights, read Rights, Consent, and Provenance and Scope Limits.
- Story example: Algorithmic Love and the Centenarian Skin provides a narrative anchor for a life in which embodied appearance is continuously computed, corrected, and maintained.
Specification Index
Galatea Standard Specification Index
The topics below are the deeper specification. You can skip them for a worldbuilding overview and open a topic only when you need definitions, data structure, or governance details.
START HERE
Start with the Concepts
01
Scope
Galatea Standard defines how embodiment references are exchanged and compared without treating appearance as proof of legal personhood identity or subjective continuity.
Read full specification →02Three Conformance Concepts
Identical data, visually matching renders, and a physically conforming embodiment are three different kinds of “same” and must be judged separately.
Read full specification →03Layers 0–8
Galatea keeps form, proportions, surfaces, motion, scent, viewing conditions, calibration, and rights in separate layers so unlike kinds of data are not mixed together.
Read full specification →RECORD & COMPARE
How to Record and Compare
04
Layer Data Contract
Embodiment data keeps its content, confidence, and provenance, and format conversion cannot make uncertain data appear more certain than it was.
Read full specification →05Header Field Dictionary
Every Galatea asset keeps asset identification, version, source, measurement conditions, rights, and compatibility information so later data remains traceable.
Read full specification →06Required Fields
Every asset has a common set of required information, while embodiment content includes only the parts needed for its intended use.
Read full specification →07Coordinate, Unit, and Precision Boundary
Galatea describes geometry in millimeters with a fixed three-dimensional coordinate direction and records uncertainty separately so measurement precision is not mistaken for physical truth.
Read full specification →08Reference Profiles
Galatea separates synthetic neutral references from artwork references; artwork mode describes only information that can be observed or explicitly defined in the work itself.
Read full specification →09Calibration, Measurement, and Viewing Conditions
Measurement tools, lighting, lenses, viewing position, and calibration conditions all affect comparison, so those conditions must be preserved together.
Read full specification →JUDGE & USE
How to Judge and Use
10
Conformance
Data, reference-render, and physical-embodiment conformance each have separate judgments and declared scope.
Read full specification →11Rights, Consent, and Provenance
Capture, training, display, replication, modification, mixing, and instantiation are separate permission surfaces, and technical-asset ownership does not become ownership of a new person.
Read full specification →12Interoperability
Galatea can receive affect-expression needs from IAGA and sensory references from S-Code / ISO-Taste without changing the original data’s provenance or permissions.
Read full specification →13Scope Limits
An appearance reference is not personhood identity, consciousness, memory, or first-person continuity; observed, estimated, and verified data must also remain distinct.
Read full specification →IMPLEMENTER RESOURCES
Implementer Resources
14
JSON Schema and Reference Example
The machine format fixes version, geometry units, coordinate direction, and uncertainty recording so different implementers can interpret the same embodiment data.
Read full specification →15Version, Compatibility, and Evolution
Each asset preserves its version and compatibility information. New versions may add capabilities, but they cannot rewrite what older data originally meant.
Read full specification →Boundaries
Three Boundaries That Are Easy to Confuse
Galatea intersects with other standards, story settings, and human-reconstruction concepts without automatically becoming the same specification or creating a hierarchy.
Why is scent inside Galatea?
The P-Scent layer in Galatea preserves embodiment-side scent / chemosensory profiles and environmental dependence. When sensory standards are needed, a cross-system mapping can point to S-Code / ISO-Taste sensory references. Galatea does not relabel data from another standard as its own.
See cross-system interoperability →The “Galatea protocol” in the story
Algorithmic Love and the Centenarian Skin directly uses the Galatea protocol and related embodiment technology as a narrative anchor. The public technical definition on this site is governed by Galatea Standard 1.0 and its detailed topics. A shared name alone is not enough to infer that every story technology is identical to the full scope of the 1.0 specification.
Read the story →Relationship to Human Reconstruction
The descriptive domains may overlap, but Galatea is not currently declared as a parent or child specification of the six Human Reconstruction concepts, and those concepts are not declared subordinate to Galatea.
See the Standards comparison →Developer / Machine Resources
Developer and Machine-Readable Resources
These Galatea Standard 1.0 interfaces are for implementers and validation tools; general readers do not need JSON Schema knowledge first.
AI Markdown
Galatea Complete AI Specification
Generated from the current fifteen specification topics, preserving separate Data / Render / Physical judgments, rights, calibration, interoperability, and measured / estimated boundaries.
Open AI document →SchemaGalatea JSON Schema
Formally defines how an embodiment reference records form, motion, provenance, permissions, calibration, and conformance information.
Open Schema →ExampleNeutral Reference Example
A neutral embodiment-reference example showing how data is organized, compared, and validated.
Open Example →