--- title: "Scientists Have a Great Idea: Cover Killer Robot in Horrifying Fungus" description: "A pair of researchers have created a living skin made of fungus that was inspired by the 1984 film \"The Terminator.\"" date: "2023-09-09" modified: "2023-09-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/living-skin-robot-fungus" categories: - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "mycelia" - "terminator" - "the digest" --- # Scientists Have a Great Idea: Cover Killer Robot in Horrifying Fungus ![A pair of researchers have created a living skin made of fungus that was inspired by the 1984 film "The Terminator."]() *\Image: Antoni Gandia\* ## Living Tissue Over Endoskeleton A pair of researchers have created a living skin made of fungus, directly inspired by the 1984 film "The Terminator." The goal is to develop a coating that could act as a biodegradable and multifunctional sensor for electronics, as [*New Scientist* reports](). Conventional electronic sensors made of silicone tend to be difficult to manufacture and often are limited in how many things they can detect at once. "There’s this scene in 'The Terminator' in which they implant the skin on the robot," Antoni Gandia at the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain, co-author of a recent [paper](), which is currently under review, told *New Scientist*. "The skin is external to him, yet it reports data to the robot and auto-repairs," he added. "We wanted to show that we can already do things like that." ## I Am a Cybernetic Organism Gandia and his colleague, Andrew Adamatzky at the University of the West of England, used a fungus species called Ganoderma sessile, which can grow in a variety of conditions. They then coated a seven-inch "Terminator" model — what else? — in agar to encourage the fungus to grow on its surface. The fungus covered the figurine from top to bottom after just five days inside an incubator. The skin was also sensitive to light and touch. In their paper, the researchers call it a "living, self-regenerating, and reactive Ganoderma sessile mycelium" that turned a "model cyborg figurine" into a "bio-cybernetic entity." At best, the project is a proof of concept, and at worst, it's a silly toy. But the two scientists hope their research could lay the groundwork for living skins that could, for instance, coat buildings to regulate their temperature. "As we continue to push the boundaries of what is achievable with mycelium, we step closer to a future where bio-cybernetic systems are a part of our everyday lives," they conclude in their paper. **More on mycelium:** *[Scientists Build Computer Chips Out of Mushrooms]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()