No one knows what sleeping mushrooms dream of when their vast mycelial networks flicker and struggle with electrochemical responses similar to those of our own brain cells. What might this web of impulses do if given a moment of freedom?
An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Cornell University in the USA and the University of Florence in Italy set out to find out, giving a culture of the edible mushroom species Pleurotus eryngii control of two vehicles that can contract and roll on a flat surface. 
Through a series of experiments, the researchers showed that it was possible to use the mushroom's electrophysiological activity as a means of converting environmental cues into instructions, which could, in turn, be used to drive a mechanical device.
"By growing mycelium into the electronics of a robot, we were able to enable the biohybrid machine to sense and respond to the environment," says senior researcher Rob Shepherd, a materials scientist at Cornell.
Applying algorithms based on the extracellular electrophysiology of P. eryngii mycelia and feeding the output to a microcontroller unit, the researchers used activities triggered by a stimulus—in this case, UV light—to alter mechanical responses in two different species of the mobile device.
In controlled experiments, the team used the signals from a fungal culture to control the movements of a five-limbed soft robot and a four-wheeled vehicle.
They were able to influence and override the "natural" impulses produced by fungi, demonstrating their ability to harness the system's sensory capabilities to achieve an end goal.
"This project is not just about controlling a robot," says Cornell bioroboticist Anand Mishra.
"It's about creating a true connection to a living system."
The survey was published in Science Robotics magazine.
