<h5>What? A biohybrid robot!</h5><p>A biohybrid robot combines biological parts and artificial components, such as electronics and mechanics.</p><p>Researchers from Cornell University, USA, have made notable progress in this field by developing two types of biohybrid robots, one with wheels and another soft-bodied robot controlled by a living king oyster mushroom.</p><p>These robots integrate biological materials with man-made parts to create machines that sense and respond to their environment. The research team has published their study in the journal Science Robotics.</p><div class="raw-html-embed"><figure> <video width="100%" controls=""> <source src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/scientists-have-created-biohybrid-robots%2Ffungi-robot-story-loop-2.mp4?alt=media&amp;token=000ba4bd-d4d4-49a2-b5a6-d55f04bdf71b" type="video/mp4"> </video> <figcaption>The wheeled biohybrid robot. Video by Anand Mishra.</figcaption> </figure></div><h5>How did they create the robot?</h5><div class="raw-html-embed"><figure> <video width="100%" controls=""> <source src="https://firebasestorage.googleapis.com/v0/b/newsahoot.appspot.com/o/scientists-have-created-biohybrid-robots%2FRobot%20walk.mp4?alt=media&amp;token=70f781e7-6324-46e2-924f-d1ee88ac2cf8" type="video/mp4"> </video> <figcaption>The soft-bodied biohybrid robot. Video by designboom.</figcaption> </figure></div><p>Many biohybrid robots are powered using animal or plant cells. The Cornell University researchers developed the robots by integrating the king oyster mushroom’s mycelium, or rootlike threads, into the robot’s hardware.</p><p>The two robots sense and respond to the environment by using the electrical signals generated by the fungus and its sensitivity to light.</p><p>The team first started growing the mushroom in the lab. Then, they cultivated mycelium, which can form networks that sense, communicate, and transport nutrients, similar to brain neurons.</p><p>Mycelium produces small electrical signals and can be connected to electrodes. At first, the team found it challenging to create a system that could detect and use the electrical signals to command the robot.</p><p>Later, they developed a system that could accurately read the signals, process them, and convert them into information to activate both robots' moving parts.</p><p>The robots could walk and roll in response to the electrical signals generated by the mycelia. Also, when the team used ultraviolet lights to stimulate the robots, they changed their direction and movement, demonstrating their ability to respond to the environment.</p><h5>Future of such robots.</h5><p>Biohybrid robots are still being tested, and they have yet to make their way out of labs into the real world.</p><p>However, researchers hope such robots can be used for various purposes, like a biohybrid robot jellyfish that can explore the ocean to help us understand it better or a biohybrid <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://www.newsahoot.com/articles/japanese-scientists-create-remotecontrolled-cyborg-cockroaches">robot cockroach</a> that could help search for survivors after an earthquake.</p>

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Scientists Have Created Biohybrid Robots

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Scientists Have Created Biohybrid Robots

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