Inspired by the Terminator, scientists have succeeded in producing living skin for robots made of fungus.
The Terminator movie series is one step closer to reality. Two researchers have produced skin for robots using fungal species.
Produced like the 1984 cult James Cameron production, these skins are capable of sensing various stimuli, biodegradable and sustainable.
The aim is to develop a biodegradable coating for electronic devices that can act as a multifunctional sensor, New Scientist reports. Traditional electronic sensors made of silicon are difficult to manufacture and are often limited in how many things they can detect at once.
Antoni Gandia from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain explains his inspiration:
“There’s a scene in the movie Terminator where they put skin on the robot. The skin is outside the robot, but it reports data to the robot and automatically repairs it. We wanted to show that we can do things like that.”
Terminator-Like Robot Sculpture Covered with Living Skin from Mushrooms
Gandia and his colleague Andrew Adamatzky from the University of the West of England used a species of fungus called Ganoderma sessile, which can grow in a variety of conditions.
They then coated an approximately 17-centimeter “Terminator“-like robot model with agar (a chemical made by dissolving red seaweed) to encourage the fungus to grow on its surface.
After just five days in an incubator, the fungus covered the skeleton from top to bottom. The skin was also sensitive to light and touch.
In their paper, the researchers call it “a living, self-renewing and reactive Ganoderma sessile mycelium that transforms a cyborg figurine into a bio-cybernetic entity.”
The two scientists hope their research could pave the way for living skins that could cover buildings and regulate their temperature.
The duo concludes:
“As we continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved with mycelium, we are one step closer to a future where bio-cybernetic systems are part of our everyday lives.”
