# Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab): maritime robotics company

Canonical ID: `7338dbfc-f2b6-456b-81e3-7695b715d1ff`

## Key facts

- **Director:** [Junaed Sattar](/people/junaed-sattar.md) (Associate Professor)
- **Institution:** University of Minnesota, College of Science and Engineering
- **Location:** Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- **Research areas:** Underwater robotics, human-robot collaboration, robot vision
- **Funding:** [NSF (IIS-2220956), ENRTF, NVIDIA, Minneapolis Foundation](/investors.md) ([see investors](/investors.md))
- **Lab name:** [Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab)](/companies/irv-lab.md)
- **Parent institute:** Minnesota Robotics Institute (MnRI)
- **Key achievement:** First robotic vision system to estimate diver respiration rate underwater

- **Slug:** irv-lab
- **Status:** research
- **Founded:** 2014
- **HQ:** Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
- **Category:** [Maritime](/maritime)

## Models

- [MeCO AUV](/models/meco-auv.md) (maritime) (id: `731e6b8b-61e4-4516-9c35-134b2ccfeb14`)

## Current leadership (1)

- [Junaed Sattar](/people/junaed-sattar.md) Lab Director & Principal Investigator (secondary-verified)

## Supplies to

_No verified supply relationships on file. Supply-chain coverage is being added across the registry; check back as the seed populates this company's outbound edges._

_Outbound supply edges. Each appears when verified with at least two strong sources. Sources are append-only; corrections add new sources rather than rewrite history._

## Common questions

### What is Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab)?

Research laboratory at the University of Minnesota focused on underwater robotics, human-robot collaboration, and computer vision. Led by Associate Professor Junaed Sattar, the lab develops autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and AI systems for diver safety monitoring, marine conservation, and aquatic species management. The lab is part of the Minnesota Robotics Institute (MnRI) and is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and NVIDIA.

### What does Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) make?

Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) has 1 robot model on the DEPLOY registry: MeCO AUV (Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) builds physical robots).

### Who competes with Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab)?

On the DEPLOY registry, peer companies to Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) building in the same form factors include Shihang Intelligent.

### Where is Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) headquartered?

Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.

### Where does Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) operate robots?

Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) operates 2 verified deployments, including at Caribbean Sea, Barbados, Lake Superior, Duluth, Minnesota, USA.

### When was Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) founded?

Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab) was founded in 2014.


## Sources (3)

1. **Minnesota Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory** · https://irvlab.cs.umn.edu/
2. **AI underwater robots can now track diver stress via exhaled bubbles** · https://techxplore.com/news/2026-07-ai-underwater-robots-track-diver.html
3. **AI-powered underwater robots revolutionize marine conservation** · https://www.nsf.gov/news/ai-powered-underwater-robots-revolutionize-marine

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