The first programmable, fully biological, amorphous massively parallel robot, a “plasmobot,” using plasmodium, the vegetative stage of the slime mold, is being developed by scientists at the University of the West of England.

The plasmodium is capable of solving complex computational tasks, such as the shortest path between points and other logical calculations, and can be made to transport objects or grow in a certain direction, using light or chemical stimuli.

It could deliver a small quantity of a chemical substance to a target, using light to help to propel it, or the movement could be used to help assemble micro-components of machines. In the very distant future, scientists may be able to harness the power of plasmodia within the human body, for example to enable drugs to be delivered to certain parts of the human body.