It has been proposed the NASA build planetary exploration robotic swarm beach balls, which can bounce along the surface of a planet and roll as they collect data. Could something like this actually work?

One online think tank member believes so. But how much power does this "design" take? Approximately 180 Watts to 300 watts ought to do the trick. How much does the "design" weigh? A Beach Ball times three plus electronics, Estimate 5-12 Lbs. How does this "design" go up small inclines? It pushes out the skin on the ball as it moves. It uses forward momentum plus pushing out bumps for propulsion.

Would this design be remote controlled, or are you saying that a bouncing ball can self-navigate in real time, despite the disorienting effects of rolling and bouncing? It would use net-centric swarming techniques and the nodes or motes used in such technologies to communicate with the other balls and move together. The sensors in side would stay stationary the ball moves the core does not, but can when it bounces. There are tumblers used in aircraft gyros and such to help with that problem.

You know one think tanker stated;