Moball: An intelligent wind-opportunistic mobile sensor to monitor the polar regions

Sensors capable of operating in harsh environments for long periods of time and having wireless readout capability are needed for mapping environmental conditions in remote areas, such as polar regions. In this paper, we report the first measured results of an innovative in-situ system of controllable and wind-opportunistic spherical mobile sensors (called Moballs), used to monitor and map various environmental factors in polar areas. To have self-powered controlled motion, Moballs exploit the abundance of wind and a novel dual-functioning mechanical control and linear induction system. Moballs have peer-to-peer and Moball-to-base (e.g. satellite) communication capability, reporting the sensory data back to the base station or other peer Moballs for task sharing decisions, improving area coverage, optimizing system performance, etc.