A system comprising: a launch mechanism configured to support a robot at a height above a landing surface and configured to launch, or drop, the robot into a freefall with an initial spin rate; and a robot adapted to have spin rate control to effect a modification of the spin rate of the robot during the freefall, the robot comprising: a body with an interior space (124, 424); and an inertia shifting assembly (430, 530), comprising: a sensor assembly (150, 550, 1150) collecting sensor data for the robot during the freefall; a controller (140, 552) processing the sensor data to generate a control signal; and a drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) operating in response to the control signal to shift the moment of inertia of the robot to modify the spin rate of the robot during the freefall; characterised in that the drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) comprises at least one weight and an assembly for moving the at least one weight relative to a center of mass of the robot in response to the control signal, the assembly comprising a release operable to retain the at least one weight (536, 1134) proximate to the center of mass and to release the at least one weight to travel from a first position within the interior space to a second position within the interior space (124, 424) in response to the control signal; wherein the controller (140, 552) is configured to process data from the sensor assembly (150, 550, 1150) to determine a distance of the robot from the landing surface during the freefall by the robot; to generate, based on the distance, a predicted orientation of the body upon contact with the landing surface at an end of the freefall; and to output the control signal based on the predicted orientation; and wherein the drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) operating in response to the control signal is configured to shift inertia of the robot to reduce or increase the spin rate of the robot, to achieve a target orientation upon landing. a launch mechanism configured to support a robot at a height above a landing surface and configured to launch, or drop, the robot into a freefall with an initial spin rate; and a robot adapted to have spin rate control to effect a modification of the spin rate of the robot during the freefall, the robot comprising: a body with an interior space (124, 424); and an inertia shifting assembly (430, 530), comprising: a sensor assembly (150, 550, 1150) collecting sensor data for the robot during the freefall; a controller (140, 552) processing the sensor data to generate a control signal; and a drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) operating in response to the control signal to shift the moment of inertia of the robot to modify the spin rate of the robot during the freefall; characterised in that the drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) comprises at least one weight and an assembly for moving the at least one weight relative to a center of mass of the robot in response to the control signal, the assembly comprising a release operable to retain the at least one weight (536, 1134) proximate to the center of mass and to release the at least one weight to travel from a first position within the interior space to a second position within the interior space (124, 424) in response to the control signal; a sensor assembly (150, 550, 1150) collecting sensor data for the robot during the freefall; a controller (140, 552) processing the sensor data to generate a control signal; and a drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) operating in response to the control signal to shift the moment of inertia of the robot to modify the spin rate of the robot during the freefall; characterised in that the drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) comprises at least one weight and an assembly for moving the at least one weight relative to a center of mass of the robot in response to the control signal, the assembly comprising a release operable to retain the at least one weight (536, 1134) proximate to the center of mass and to release the at least one weight to travel from a first position within the interior space to a second position within the interior space (124, 424) in response to the control signal; wherein the controller (140, 552) is configured to process data from the sensor assembly (150, 550, 1150) to determine a distance of the robot from the landing surface during the freefall by the robot; to generate, based on the distance, a predicted orientation of the body upon contact with the landing surface at an end of the freefall; and to output the control signal based on the predicted orientation; and wherein the drive mechanism (132, 532, 1132) operating in response to the control signal is configured to shift inertia of the robot to reduce or increase the spin rate of the robot, to achieve a target orientation upon landing.