Thick Skin and a Robot: Spanish scientists working on giving humanoid bots skin made of fungus

Two researchers have crafted a living fungal skin, inspired directly by a scene from the 1984 film “The Terminator.” Their aim is to develop a biodegradable and multifunctional sensor coating for electronics, as reported by New Scientist. Traditional electronic sensors constructed from silicone often pose manufacturing challenges and limitations when it comes to detecting multiple variables simultaneously. Antoni Gandia, a co-author of an upcoming paper currently under review and affiliated with the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain, referenced a particular scene from “The Terminator” in explaining their inspiration. He noted, “There’s this scene in ‘The Terminator’ in which they implant the skin on the robot. The skin is external to him, yet it reports data to the robot and auto-repairs. We wanted to show that we can already do things like that.” The researchers, Antoni Gandia and his colleague Andrew Adamatzky from the University of the West of England, utilized a fungus species known as Ganoderma sessile, which can thrive in diverse environments. They applied agar to encourage the fungus’s growth on a seven-inch model inspired by “The Terminator.” Remarkably, the fungus enveloped the figurine entirely within just five days while also demonstrating sensitivity to light and touch. In their paper, the researchers refer to it as “living, self-regenerating, and reactive Ganoderma sessile mycelium,” effectively transforming a “model cyborg figurine” into a “bio-cybernetic entity.” At its best, this project serves as a proof of concept, and at its most conservative interpretation, it might be seen as a playful experiment. However, the scientists envision that their research could serve as a foundation for the development of living skins that could potentially coat structures to regulate their temperature. In concluding their paper, they assert, “As we continue to push the boundaries of what is achievable with mycelium, we step closer to a future where bio-cybernetic systems are a part of our everyday lives.”