  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.
