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Tuesday, February 14, 2006

The slime mold is controlling the robot!

I know I sound like Eggagog, but really: The slime mold is controlling the robot!
Physarum polycephalum is a large single-celled organism that responds to food sources, such as bacteria and fungi, by moving towards and engulfing it. It also moves away from light and favours humid, moist places to inhabit. The mould uses a network of tiny tubes filled with cytoplasm to both sense its environment and decide how to respond to it. Zauner's team decided to harness this simple control mechanism to direct a small six-legged (hexapod) walking bot.
(Via Slashdot.)

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