What if I told you that somewhere, right now, a mushroom is driving a robot? No, this isn’t a scene from a quirky sci-fi movie—this is real life. Scientists from Cornell University and the University of Florence have fused biology with robotics, giving a king oyster mushroom (Pleurotus eryngii) control over two types of vehicles. It’s as strange as it sounds, and it might just be the start of something wild. You can read about the research in more detail here.
Let’s break this down: fungi are fascinating organisms. Hidden beneath the soil, their mycelial networks hum with electrical activity that eerily resembles neural impulses. For years, scientists have eavesdropped on these signals, wondering what they mean. Now, they’ve found a way to interpret and channel them—into driving robots. By embedding fungal mycelium directly into a robot’s electronic systems, researchers created biohybrid machines capable of sensing their environment and responding accordingly.
In one experiment, the mushroom’s electrical signals triggered by UV light were used to control the movement of a five-limbed soft robot and a four-wheeled vehicle. This wasn’t just about letting fungi take the wheel; the researchers could override the mushroom’s “natural” impulses to meet specific goals.
But why stop there? The possibilities are both exciting and just a little unnerving. Imagine smart agricultural systems where mushrooms detect soil stress and send out a robot to deliver the perfect amount of water or nutrients. Or picture environmental sensors powered by fungi that can “feel” pollution levels and take action to mitigate damage. And yes, there’s always the potential for fungi-powered robots that might one day sense and respond to changes in our own bodies, perhaps even delivering personalized medical care.
The beauty of mushrooms lies in their simplicity. Unlike most living organisms, they thrive in challenging conditions with minimal resources. This resilience makes them ideal for cybernetic experimentation. Yet, there’s something undeniably uncanny about it all. Are we creating living machines—or giving machines a glimpse of life?
As Anand Mishra, a bioroboticist from Cornell, put it: this isn’t just about control. It’s about creating a connection with a living system. In the future, biohybrid robots might not just act on their environment but engage in a kind of dialogue with it. Mushrooms could whisper about stresses we can’t see, letting robots translate those whispers into action. The question is: how much are we willing to listen?
It’s fun to imagine what the fungi might dream of when plugged into machine.