Anatomical Fidelity
That V.I.C.I. of Small Wonder doesn't resemble R2-D2 or Robbie the Robot but resembles a very pretty 10-ten-year-old girl is the core gimmick of the series, affirmed by market research ascertaining the most ideal form for a domestic robot that's most readily acceptable across all age groups and aesthetic tastes (See Series Background).
The degree of V.I.C.I.'s human physiological fidelity is mostly a social aesthetics matter. The most basic humanoid appearance would be that of the featureless "flat-vinyl" appearance of most plastic dolls. While adequate for her role, there must be consideration in how attractive and friendly and comfortably natural this look would be in an ongoing basis among different personality and aesthetic tastes. Some might recoil at the inhuman sight of a totally smooth "blank" human form with the same uneasiness given to those with piebald or badly scorched skin or other epidermal anomalies. For sheer marketing sake, a ADA like V.I.C.I. would most likely resemble a normal human being in skin texture, imperfections, sun wrinkles, shading and hair.
Just how precise V.I.C.I.'s anatomical correctness should be is dependent on whether she's meant just to sufficiently look natural enough in a family environment or has to pass hard scrutiny as a secret prototype. In Small Wonder, Ted Lawson refined Vicki's looks for maximum anatomical fidelity to pass very close human inspection by corporate spies, neighbor kids exchanging clothing, school nurses or other girls in school showers and peeping Toms. The main difference is that the basic non-security pass anatomical fidelity mode doesn't extend to any orifices she has (mouth, nose, etc) because there's no need to get that precise for her social human effect in a family environment since the user-family would intuitively overlook any slight unnatural traits which otherwise would draw curiosity.
Normally robots don't "develop" like real little girls do, however Ted's Lawson is constantly giving Vicki updates not just electronic but structural as well to effect the illusion of normal human growth (her adolescent overhaul would've made interesting viewing). Vicki's height can be extended around four inches and her apparent stature and given growth bulk by increasing her general myogel density. Vicki's hair is natural human hair, at first in the form of a wig which is later implanted in the silicone rubber of her scalp. Initially there were feasible concepts to give her the ability to grow tresses of any texture and length (See "Vicki's Debut On Donahue"), but this power would passed on to Vanessa.
Vicki possesses the equivalent of Grade Seven of Bio-signs simulation capability as established by the Buerau of Standards initially for National Institute of Health. This bio-sim "fidelity" grading system was developed thirty years ago to grade sophisticated medical school "dummies" which are equipped with apparatus to simulate breathing, heartbeats, pulse, cardiac and respiratory dysfunctions and fractures. This grading is also creeping into Hollywood to define the accuracy (and cost) of any particular animatronic figure.
Generally, Grade One is any figure which approximates the general superficial functions of the human body (i.e. medical school emergency room procedures dummies). Actually this level isn't really applicable or relative to the rest but it was the first definition benchmark. Grade Two is any figure (animal or human) which the sight of human eyes cannot be discerned from the real thing from a casual distance (i.e. typical camera ranges). This is the start of the truer benchmark of bio-sim fidelity and is the level most animatronics firms are concerned with. Grade Three is similar but includes natural motion. The sophistication and cost increases proportionally. Grade Four is similar to Two but eyeballing something at very close range just short of physical contact. Many Hollywood latex masks require this kind of precision. Grade Five involves textural fidelity, that is artificial skin indistinguishable from the real thing by our fingertips. Pricey aircraft test dummies fall into this category, not to be confused with auto crash dummies, since aircraft ones are more precisely measured on deceleration and effects of pressure and smoke and flame and liquids and shear on the skin and human skeleton beneath. Grade Six starts to embody Grade One features such as simulate breathing, heartbeat, pulse, but only while One is just concerned in passably simulating physiological signs for medical effect's sake, Grade Six demands that the expression of those simulated vital signs appear as natural as possible. To my knowledge there are no commercial Grade Six class simulants because their ultra-convincing features would be needless overkill for Hollywood needs, though such pricey things might be used in "surprise" emergency room response evaluations in which not even the paramedics can tell they haven't a real human body on their hands until they break the skin or examine the eyes and mouth.
The step to Vicki's fictional Grade Seven suggests an artificial human body that can pass cursory examination of the oral and sinus cavity and the structure of the inner eyeball as was suggested by the episode "The Pool" where Vicki is examined by a questionably competent intern and passes his basic inspection for breathing, heartbeat, pulse, skin temperture and skin tone (Grade Six). I suspect that while technically it might be possible to accomplish a higher level of bio-sim/effect fidelity regarding simulating the internal structure of oral and sinus and other cavities and orifices, it would be at a very high cost and questionable need. Since Vicki attended junior high in the last two seasons it can be assumed she was once checked out by a school nurse at least once for various requirements, so a security-conscious Ted must've started out giving her a Grade Seven equivalent ability to pass a nurse's examination. It can be assumed that Ted had access to ample resources at United Robotronics to accomplish this under a carte-blanche "black projects" title, and since Vicki's perfection represents a potential multi-billion dollar market, the trouble and cost making her bio-sim passable to such extremes from competitors before her perfected debut would easily be worth it.
Skin
Vicki's skin was developed by a top theatrical effects house under contract with United Robotronics. The molding method used is called the PAL molding method wherein a person is dipped directly into a vat of gelatin and could even be molded with the eyes open. The gelatin mold is used to make the fiberglass cast for the master silicone rubber skin. To make a seamless body skin one would have to mold the whole person at one time. Realistic skin textures can be "lifted" from the donor's surface along with reliefs of scars, sun wrinkles and other epidermic imperfections. The fiberglass mold was used to press the actual silicone rubber skin that would sheath the cybersoma (android body). Vicki's skin and features were casted from a real child, in this case model ten-year-old Mary O'Connor, which in a very real way makes Vicki a kind of "cybernetic clone."
The composition of Vicki's skin is very unique because of the wear and tear of the unforgiving physical world and because the technology for fine self-repair in this area isn't in reach yet. You might call it "industrial strength". It would have a far more durable base with perhaps fiberglass or boron filaments mixed in the emulsion to better resist scuffs and abrasions and even cuts. It would likely have almost rhino skin resilience while maintaining a soft human-like texture and translucence. Fifteen years ago I've seen ply-reinforcement chemical treatments that would take nearly all your strength to rip a sheet of so-treated typing paper. Her skin would be scorch and flame-resistant as well, being a kitchen appliance, but this treatment is very easy to supply.
Vicki's skin, functioning very much like ours, would perform double-duty in internal thermal management since her electronics put out considerable heat that would roast delicate systems sealed up within a sealed silicone rubber shell without ventilation. Circulating throughout her dermis layer would be a network of capillaries of radiator fluid that would disperse the heat generated by her internal systems. This would incidentally give her naturally warm skin. Heat would also be vented from other "natural" orifices such as her mouth and nose.
Vicki's skin would be an expensive aspect of her cost since it must not only be very durable but look and feel exactly like the real thing if her appearance is to look natural enough, but in mass production the mold and fabrication process should knock down the cost considerably.
Skeleton
V.I.C.I.'s skeleton is a 1:1 exact replicant of a peer human female's skeleton; side-by-side there is very little to tell them apart except that Vicki's is silvery due to the titanium composition of her skeleton. Titanium, being a very light and exceptionally strong and sturdy material, is ideal for handling the kinds of stresses and weights that Vicki's designed to regularly handle. Her skeleton is hollow to provide room for her Li-Ion auxiliary power cells. Most of Vicki's components are housed within heurmetically "cradles" freely suspended within her rib cage and lower abdomen regions. This configuration allows her body to bend and flex in all the positions possible of a human frame without being limited by non-segmented blocks of internal components. In addition, Vicki possesses tough nylon "cartilage" and "ligaments" that function very much in the same matter as a real human body in providing structure bracing and alignments. Vicki's femur, humerus, and first and sacral vertebra contain telescopic joints that can extend several centimeters to create the appearance of growth and to aid in reaching or seeing over taller objects.
Muscle System
V.I.C.I.'s myogel muscle system is a 1:1 exact replicant of a peer human female's muscle system; side-by-side there is very little to tell them apart except that Vicki's resembles cellophane bundles of gray gel, which in turn are really clusters of tens of thousands of spaghetti-like sheaths which contain the actual myogel ferrofluid. At each end of every "spaghetti" sheath are electrodes. The myogel within is polarized with a positive charge in its "relaxed" state. When the electrodes are fired, they cause the in-suspension magnetic domains within the myogel to dilate and "expand" against the sheath, "swelling" it, and in doing so pulling in the ends simultaneously with a traction force. It takes only a few thousandths of a second and can generate tremendous force. Once sheath can exert a pull of over a hundred times its weight. This is the core of Vicki's indefatigable strength and inhuman speed.
Power System
V.I.C.I.'s RadioThermionic Generator (RTG) is a derivative of the radioisotope powerplants used in deep space probes and polar weather monitors and communication relay stations. The prime advantage of a RTG over batteries is its high energy output - low weight/size ratio, reliability, ruggedness, and does away with the need to regularly compromise the integrity of V.I.C.I.'s internal components and unbroken creamy skin for maintenance and replacement. The size of a softball and seated in the left pelvis, the unit utilizes 90 grams of Plutonium-239 oxide encased in a stainless steel capsule as its primary thermal source at 270-degree-Celsius which, along with a Stirling dynamo, is hermetically sealed within a nickel-carbon steel shell. There is no physical access or fluid exchange with the outside world, with all power conduits and thermal management effected via conduction and induction through the shell itself. The plutonium capsule serves double duty; for direct thermocouple conversion of heat into electricity, and as the heat driver for the dynamo. This dual mode is useful because while radiothermionic electric conversion is notoriously inefficient though solid state, a Stirling dynamo is very efficient and high output. The advantage of using radiothermionics is that it makes a good backup and constant energy source for V.I.C.I.'s basic non-motive systems whenever the dynamo's throttled down during her sleep and rest modes to further reduce wear, and also provides continuous charging of the lithium-ion cells consisting the marrows of her titanium skeleton. The RTG's sustained electrical output is around 90 watts continuous duty with an emergency peak of 130 with her marrow cells online, induction channeled to a surge protected DC/AC inverter-transformer and power distribution bus which is grounded to the left ilium. The unit has an operational MTBF of 5000 hours and is designed to withstand considerable damage without breaching. In the 1960s, carbon-steel jacketed plutonium capsules for nuclear pacemakers were tested by being placed on the tracks of train locomotives and though flattened, never burst. The leakage history for containers designed to prevent the breach of nuclear materials has been virtually zero, even in plane crash and extreme fire and point-blank rifle fire situations. In addition, the plutonium is mixed within a refractory ceramic, so even cracked with a sledgehammer there'd be no cancerous airborne powdery residues. This state also renders it unusable for explosive-grade material. The RTG's licensed like nuclear pacemakers and medical nucleonics, and fewer alpha emissions come from the device than an old radium watch in its immediate vicinity, and virtually undetectable from background radiation outside V.I.C.I.'s skin. Only unwarranted nuclear phobias and politics exploiting science ignorance prevent further use of this technology.
Sensory Systems
Still in development
Computers & A.I.
Still in development
Thermal Management
Being a high powered electronic device, Vicki generates large amounts of heat, both surplus from her Radiothermonionic Generator and the residul heat from her various systems and components. Thanks to various "tricks" as using zero-state electronics, her main IC power draw is very low compared with conventional IC devices, nevertheless the thermal flux is still considerable. The thermal management problem is further exasperated by the fact that Vicki's sealed skin permits no ready ventilation or forced air system. Instead, Vicki relies on a closed-circuit active radiator system consisting of feron networks interlacing her component housing shells via miniature turbine pumps, the warmed fluid then circulated via a epidermal radiator network of capillaries that transfer the heat to the environment via her skin before being recirculated to her systems. In addition, there are similar radiator networks lining her mouth, throat and lower nasal structures.
Ambient Sounds
As for Vicki's "ambient" internal sounds, her myogel muscle drive system would be next to silent, and the high-pitched whines emitted by her various cooling and fluidic turbine-pumps would be far too tiny to be distinguishable from background noise, especially after being acoustically muffled by her simulant heartbeat and breathing. It's likely that with her bio-sim functions switched off and your ear was against Vicki's chest that you might hear the hum and resonance of her electronics, maybe similar to listening to a Palm Pilot when it's on. As mentioned in "Vicki's Debut On Dunahue", Vicki has "lungs" in the form of bellows to effect breath and breathing but not vocalisms since she has no vocal tract and instead effects speech via a speaker-type system in her throat which she lipsyncs with, unlike Vanessa who produces air-pressure driven speech just like we do.
