The unsettling truth behind “organic robots” going viral online
TOI GLOBAL | Jan 02, 2026, 20:07 IST
Videos of fleshy, living-looking robots have sparked fear and fascination across social media. While they may appear straight out of science fiction, these creations are real—rooted in a growing field called biohybrid robotics. Scientists are combining living tissue with machines, not to create life-like beings, but to explore new ways technology can move, sense, and adapt. Here’s what these viral robots actually are, why they exist, and what they are not capable of.
Videos circulating online show fleshy, organic “robots” that unsettle many viewers and raise an important question: Is this real? The short answer is yes. While the images may seem like they belong in a science-fiction movie, the research supporting them is based on real, peer-reviewed science and ongoing lab experiments.
What people are seeing are examples of biohybrid robotics, a new field where scientists combine living biological material such as muscle cells, fungi, or lab-grown tissue with traditional robotic parts. These machines are not fully alive or autonomous. Instead, they are experimental systems that move, sense, or respond using biological components rather than just motors.
One notable breakthrough comes from labs that work with lab-grown muscle tissue. Researchers have successfully grown skeletal muscle cells in controlled settings and attached them to soft robotic frames. When these muscles receive electrical stimulation, they contract and enable the robot to move. Unlike metal actuators, biological muscles can repair themselves to some extent and operate efficiently, making them appealing for future medical or soft-robotic uses.
Another interesting example involves fungal networks, especially mycelium the root-like structure of mushrooms. Scientists at Cornell University showed that electrical signals from living mycelium could help control simple robots. The fungal networks respond to environmental changes like light or chemicals, acting as a living sensor system. This research hints that future machines could depend less on silicon-based sensors and more on biological responses.
Importantly, these projects are not secret military experiments or efforts to create humanoid beings. Most biohybrid robots today are small, fragile, and limited to lab conditions. The organic components need exact temperature, nutrients, and moisture to survive. Outside controlled environments, they degrade quickly a major challenge researchers are still addressing.
Despite sensational online claims, experts emphasize that these robots are not conscious, self-aware, or replacements for humans. They cannot think, feel, or act on their own. What makes them remarkable is their ability to borrow specific traits from living systems adaptability, softness, and biological efficiency and apply them to engineering challenges.
What people are seeing are examples of biohybrid robotics, a new field where scientists combine living biological material such as muscle cells, fungi, or lab-grown tissue with traditional robotic parts. These machines are not fully alive or autonomous. Instead, they are experimental systems that move, sense, or respond using biological components rather than just motors.
One notable breakthrough comes from labs that work with lab-grown muscle tissue. Researchers have successfully grown skeletal muscle cells in controlled settings and attached them to soft robotic frames. When these muscles receive electrical stimulation, they contract and enable the robot to move. Unlike metal actuators, biological muscles can repair themselves to some extent and operate efficiently, making them appealing for future medical or soft-robotic uses.
Another interesting example involves fungal networks, especially mycelium the root-like structure of mushrooms. Scientists at Cornell University showed that electrical signals from living mycelium could help control simple robots. The fungal networks respond to environmental changes like light or chemicals, acting as a living sensor system. This research hints that future machines could depend less on silicon-based sensors and more on biological responses.
Importantly, these projects are not secret military experiments or efforts to create humanoid beings. Most biohybrid robots today are small, fragile, and limited to lab conditions. The organic components need exact temperature, nutrients, and moisture to survive. Outside controlled environments, they degrade quickly a major challenge researchers are still addressing.