Plants represent promising living components for biohybrid systems due to their multifunctionality and complete life cycle encompassing germination, growth, decomposition, and regeneration. Among diverse plant species, Mimosa pudica is a prospective candidate for plant‐based actuation owing to its rapid, reversible movements, such as petiole bending and pinnule folding, in response to external stimuli. Given its pronounced responsiveness to stimuli, Mimosa pudica is ideally suited for the development of intelligent and sustainable systems. Movements in Mimosa pudica are traditionally induced by direct stimulation of aerial organs. This study demonstrates that thermal and electrical stimulation of Mimosa pudica root induces movement even without direct stimulation of the aerial organs. The root stimulation method is used to characterize stimulus levels, bending angles, and response–recovery times, establishing quantitative relationships between stimulation and movement. Additionally, the damage caused by this method and its capability to induce repeated movement are evaluated. Moreover, a robotic gripper incorporating Mimosa pudica demonstrates the application of this approach in biohybrid systems, highlighting the potential of root stimulation as a noninvasive, unobstructed interface for living actuation. These findings provide valuable insights and design cues for developing intelligent and sustainable systems, with root‐induced actuation expanding the potential application of Mimosa pudica .
Sato et al. (2026) studied this question.