Biological Computing: Robots Made of Mold

Scientists in the UK are working on creating a robot out of mold. Using vegetative stage of the common slime mold Physarum polycephalum, they aim to create the world’s first fully biological (no silicon components) robot. Professor Andy Adamatzky of the University of the West of England explains to ScienceDaily:

“Most people’s idea of a computer is a piece of hardware with software designed to carry out specific tasks. This mould, or plasmodium, is a naturally occurring substance with its own embedded intelligence.

…Through previous experiments we have already demonstrated the ability of this mould to transport objects. By feeding it oat flakes, it grows tubes which oscillate and make it move in a certain direction carrying objects with it. We can also use light or chemical stimuli to make it grow in a certain direction.

…The robots will have parallel inputs and outputs, a network of sensors and the number crunching power of super computers. The plasmobot will be controlled by spatial gradients of light, electro-magnetic fields and the characteristics of the substrate on which it is placed. It will be a fully controllable and programmable amorphous intelligent robot with an embedded massively parallel computer.”

ScienceDaily: “‘Plasmobot’: Scientists To Design First Robot Using Mould”

[image via Discover]