AUVs
An untethered submersible that runs its mission on its own, with no cable and no pilot — in this catalogue, mostly cordless pool cleaners that crawl the floor on tracks.
- autonomous underwater vehicle
- underwater glider
- Aiper Scuba X1AiperMass 10.9 kgUSD 1,200seen 2026-10-28
- Beatbot AquaSense 2 ProBeatbot · CNMass 11.38 kgUSD 2,299seen 2026-10-28 Discontinued
What it is
An AUV goes underwater without a cable and makes its own decisions until it surfaces or finishes. No tether means no drag, no snagging and no boat following it, so it can run long transects or work where a cable could never reach. The costs: nothing comes back live, because radio and GPS stop at the surface, so it navigates by dead reckoning, acoustics or a map it builds itself, and the battery is all it has. Ocean-going AUVs are expensive survey instruments; the consumer end is the cordless pool cleaner, a small AUV with brushes.
In this taxonomy the rule is submersible, untethered and autonomous. Pool cleaners belong here on
that rule. Shoppers say pool robot, and the application: pool attribute is how to find them.
What they are used for
- Pool cleaning — cordless cleaners like the Aiper Scuba X1 and Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro that cover floor, walls and waterline on a schedule.
- Seabed survey — bathymetry, pipeline and cable inspection on pre-planned lines, with sonar instead of a camera.
- Oceanography — gliders that ride buoyancy changes for months, logging temperature and salinity.
- Research — university teams building vehicles for autonomy competitions.
What to compare
| Attribute | Why it matters | In this catalogue |
|---|---|---|
depth_rating |
A pool is a few metres; survey vehicles are rated for hundreds or thousands | 3 m (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro) |
battery_runtime |
The whole mission, since there is no cable to feed it | 180 min (Aiper Scuba X1) – 660 min (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro) |
autonomy |
From bump-and-turn coverage to full mission planning with acoustic navigation | autonomous (2) |
mass |
Pool cleaners are a one-person lift; survey AUVs need a crane | 10.9 kg (Aiper Scuba X1) – 11.38 kg (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro) |
payload |
Filter basket at one end; sonar and sampling gear at the other | not yet in the catalogue |
sdk |
Pool cleaners offer an app; research AUVs expose the mission system | proprietary (2) |
Price picture (observed 2026-10-28)
- Education, hobby & consumer: USD 1,200 (Aiper Scuba X1) to USD 2,299 (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro).
Prices are the latest observation per product, in the seller's currency; see each record's offers for history and VAT notes.
In the catalogue
Education, hobby & consumer: Aiper Scuba X1 · Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro (discontinued)
Edge cases
- Corded pool cleaners: tethered, so ROVs — the tether decides even when it carries only power and nobody pilots them; none listed yet.
- Pool cleaner that also skims the surface (Beatbot AquaSense 2 Pro): still an AUV; it submerges.
- Underwater gliders: AUVs, even without a propeller.
- Tethered submersibles: ROVs.
Related
Aquatic robot · ROV · USV
Rule of membership
Submersible; untethered. Includes cordless pool cleaners that crawl the floor.
Category rb-7-2 in the whatrobot taxonomy.