Slime Brain:
Harnessing Bio-intelligence

In partnership with the Hyundai Research Collaborative

In collaboration with Manini Banerjee
Advised by Paula Gaetano-Adi

Final Video
Feature on Kia’s Global Media Center
Feature by Popular Science
Article by Livid Magazine

What if autonomous vehicles were controlled by organic matter? Existing robots lack the consciousness and intelligence of organic beings. We investigated how combining the existing robotic substrate with organic materials could alter the robot’s behaviour in various environments.

Slime mold demonstrates intelligence - it can grow, learn, predict, and adapt depending on its environment. It can remember where it has previously been, and can navigate new terrains without having to be manually trained.

Robots today compute the most efficient path through a maze by using a mix of flood filling algorithm and 2D array manipulation. We imagine a world where slime mold would inform the robot’s navigation instead. With a petri dish that is set up to mimic the robot’s environment, and a computer vision system that aligns the robot’s movements to the mold’s path, the slime mold could guide the robot to its destination in a more efficient way.

We ordered a kit of Slime Mold (Physarum Polycephalum) to conduct our own experiments. Studies have shown that slime mold uses chemotaxis to find the most efficient path between two paths. To test this, we placed oats in a petri dish, and observed how the slime mold made its way to its favorite food.

To present our idea to RISD and Hyundai, we complied a video and presentation which explains our concept, experiment and hopes for future investigation into autonomous vehicles and bio-intelligence.

mehek gopi vohra

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