Engineers have created a new type of small 5-legged robot that places living fungi behind the controls.

The biohybrid robot uses electrical signals from an edible type of mushroom called a king trumpet in order to move around and sense its environment.

Developed by an interdisciplinary team from Cornell University in the US and Florence University in Italy, the machine could herald a new era of living robotics.

It responds to light, and it can freely crawl.

And yes, this is a real experiment