Reactive fungal insoles

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of fungal mycelium-based insoles as reactive wearable sensors, demonstrating electrical response to pressure and modeling wave propagation to identify pressure points.

Contribution

It introduces a novel application of mycelium composites as sensory insoles and models their electrical activity for pressure detection, advancing fungal wearable technology.

Findings

Electrical activity changes with compressive stress in fungal insoles.

Numerical modeling shows potential to identify pressure points via electrical signals.

Fungal insoles can serve as reactive, sensory wearable devices.

Abstract

Mycelium bound composites are promising materials for a diverse range of applications including wearables and building elements. Their functionality surpasses some of the capabilities of traditionally passive materials, such as synthetic fibres, reconstituted cellulose fibres and natural fibres. Thereby, creating novel propositions including augmented functionality (sensory) and aesthetic (personal fashion). Biomaterials can offer multiple modal sensing capability such as mechanical loading (compressive and tensile) and moisture content. To assess the sensing potential of fungal insoles we undertook laboratory experiments on electrical response of bespoke insoles made from capillary matting colonised with oyster fungi Pleurotus ostreatus to compressive stress which mimics human loading when standing and walking. We have shown changes in electrical activity with compressive loading. The results advance the development of intelligent sensing insoles which are a building block towards more generic reactive fungal wearables. Using FitzhHugh-Nagumo model we numerically illustrated how excitation wave-fronts behave in a mycelium network colonising an insole and shown that it may be possible to discern pressure points from the mycelium electrical activity.