mycorobotics

Mycorobotics is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of mycology and robotics that investigates the use of fungal biology and biomaterials in robotic systems. It encompasses approaches that use living fungal components alongside traditional hardware, as well as designs inspired by fungal structures and growth patterns.

Development has grown from soft robotics and biohybrid concepts, with attention to mycelium-based composites used as lightweight, self-assembling materials for robot housings or functional components. Researchers also explore fungal networks as living substrates that alter their properties in response to stimuli, or as a platform for distributed sensing and computation inspired by fungal growth patterns.

Common approaches include using mycelium-based composites for lightweight, biodegradable robot enclosures or soft actuators, and employing fungal networks as living sensors or computational substrates to study distributed information processing. Some projects investigate neuromorphic concepts inspired by the way fungal hyphae explore and connect to resources, using that analogy to inform control architectures.

Applications span sustainable robotics, environmental monitoring, and exploration in delicate environments where traditional materials are problematic. Mycorobotics also informs the design of self-healing or adaptable structures that can respond to damage or changing conditions through growth or remodeling.

Challenges include variability and reliability of living systems, biosafety and containment, scaling production, standardization, and ethical/ecological considerations.

See also:

- Mycelium

- Soft robotics

- Biohybrid robotics

- Biomaterials

- Neuromorphic engineering