Researchers at Cornell University (USA) have created two remarkable robots, controlled by a living entity: the chicken mushroom.
The products of the Cornell University research team include a wheeled robot that moves across the floor. The other robot is star-shaped with five flexible legs, allowing it to navigate its environment. They operate on electrical energy and are “controlled” by chicken mushrooms through their biological processes.
Chicken Mushroom. (Photo: Shutterstock)
The researchers at Cornell University created these unique robots by cultivating mycelium – a network of fungal threads that form the body of the mushroom – and embedding it into the robot’s hardware. The two robots can sense and respond to their environment by harnessing electrical signals generated by the mushroom and the light sensitivity of the fungus.
In addition, Professor Robert Shepherd from Cornell University, who participated in the research, stated that this technology could have applications in agriculture. He explained: “In this case, we use light as input, but in the future, it will be chemicals. Future robots could potentially sense chemicals in the soil and determine the right time to apply fertilizers.”
The research detailing the two robots was published in the journal Science Robotics on August 28. The researchers selected the chicken mushroom because it grows easily and quickly.
Video about the chicken mushroom “controlled” robots from Cornell University.
These robots represent the latest achievement in the field of “biologically hybrid robots.” In this area, scientists aim to combine living biological materials, such as plant and animal cells or insects, with synthetic components to create entities that are part living and part mechanical.
Biologically hybrid robots have not yet been taken out of the laboratory, but researchers hope that one day, jellyfish robots could explore the oceans, and robot cockroaches could search for survivors after earthquakes.
