RISE OF THE SLIMEBOTS

If you have ever read science fiction stories of cyborgs, half robot - half living creatures, and wondered if they could very become reality, then research currently being undertaken at Southampton university could well give you pause for thought.

Dr Klaus-Peter Zauner and Yukio-Pegio Gunji have made a six legged robot controlled by computer circuitry which interprets responses made by the slime mould Physarum polycephalu. The slime mould requires dark, damp places and, possessing limited amoeboid movement, actively moves towards these conditions. They have placed the slime mould onto a six pointed star shaped sensor connected to the electronics controlling the robot's legs. When light is directed onto part of the star-shaped mould, its responses make the robot scuttle out of the light and into the shade. Thus the slime mould is able to make the robot walk around its habitat and maintain favourable conditions as light levels alter.

Although it is early days in their research the team point out that they are exploring the use of biological cells in robot control to gain an understanding of how the nimble behaviour of organisms can be duplicated.

You can read more at:
http://eprints.ecs.soton.ac.uk/11749/01/TsudaS06RobotCircToCell.pdf