Robot model

MeCO AUV

Medium Cost Open-source autonomous underwater vehicle designed for research in underwater human-robot interaction, marine conservation, and aquatic species…

Manufacturer: Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab)
Form factor: maritime
Maturity: research
Lifecycle: active
Deployments: 2
Website: irvlab.cs.umn.edu ↗

Overview

Medium Cost Open-source autonomous underwater vehicle designed for research in underwater human-robot interaction, marine conservation, and aquatic species management. Features multiple sensors, modular components, and AI-powered vision for detecting and tracking invasive species. Field-tested in Lake Superior, Square Lake (Minnesota), and the Caribbean Sea off Barbados.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage: research(Lab-stage only; no commercial or public deployment reported.)
Verified deployments: 2 deployments on file
Sources on file: 2 sources, view all

Key facts

Full name

Medium Cost Open-source AUV

Type

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

Open source

Yes — open-source design

Sensors

Multiple sensors, modular components

AI capabilities

Computer vision, species identification, diver monitoring

Field tested

Lake Superior, Square Lake (MN), Caribbean Sea (Barbados)

NSF grant

IIS-2220956 (NRI: Enhancing Autonomous Underwater Robot Perception)

Data & sources

Research

Web sources

2 sources backing this record.View all →

Pricing

No verified price is on record for MeCO AUV. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

How DEPLOY tracks pricing

Deployments (2)

MeCO AUV at Caribbean Sea, Barbadospilot
Week-long sea trial of MeCO AUV in the Caribbean Sea for marine conservation and invasive species tracking research
MeCO AUV at Lake Superior, Duluth, Minnesota, USApilot
Field testing of MeCO AUV for underwater robot perception and diver monitoring research

MeCO AUV on the deployment map

Where MeCO AUV is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Record createdJul 29, 2026
Added to the verified registry
Deployment recordedJun 1, 2024
at Lake Superior, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Deployment recordedJan 1, 2024
at Caribbean Sea, Barbados

Full change history →

Safety record

No incidents on record for MeCO AUV.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (2)

The MeCO (Medium Cost Open-source) AUV · https://irvlab.cs.umn.edu/robots/meco-medium-cost-open-source-auv
Design and Development of the MeCO Open-Source Autonomous Underwater Vehicle · https://arxiv.org/html/2503.10928v1

Common questions

What is MeCO AUV?

How much does MeCO AUV cost?

MeCO AUV's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for MeCO AUV from Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab). Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.

Is MeCO AUV actually deployed in the real world?

Yes. MeCO AUV is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.

Who makes MeCO AUV?

MeCO AUV is made by Interactive Robotics and Vision Laboratory (IRV Lab), based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA, founded in 2014.

Where is MeCO AUV deployed?

2 verified deployments of MeCO AUV are on the DEPLOY registry, including at Caribbean Sea, Barbados, Lake Superior, Duluth, Minnesota, USA.

Can you buy MeCO AUV?

MeCO AUV is at research stage and is not yet available for sale.

What are alternatives to MeCO AUV?

On the DEPLOY registry, comparable maritime robots to MeCO AUV include Shihang Orca.

How does MeCO AUV compare to Shihang Orca?

MeCO AUV and Shihang Orca (Shihang Intelligent · 3 deployments) are both maritime robots on the DEPLOY registry. MeCO AUV has 2 verified deployments on record. Compare both records for specs, safety, deployments, and verified-vs-claimed autonomy.

What is MeCO AUV's maturity stage?

MeCO AUV is at the research stage on the DEPLOY maturity ladder (research, prototype, pilot, commercial, production). Research stage means active development without commercial deployments on file.

Is MeCO AUV safe?

MeCO AUV has no incidents on record in the DEPLOY registry. This does not constitute a safety guarantee; it reflects the incidents DEPLOY has tracked and verified to date.

Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-29

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-29

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: research

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: maritime

Sources by quality tier

1: unclassified; Unclassified source
1: preprint; Preprint

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.