Bruin Underwater Robotics (BUR) is ASME’s newest technical project, dedicated to creating robots capable of operating in and exploring underwater environments. Underwater robotics is a unique field with applications such as ocean cleanup, marine biology research, deep sea exploration, etc. These environments provide exceptional engineering challenges that require creative problem-solving involving areas such as fluid dynamics, heat transfer, mechanisms, and circuit design.

The specific tasks that the robot will be designed to undertake are determined by an underwater robotics competition. Through the process of designing, fabricating, and testing a robot to perform those tasks under these conditions, members will learn about and draw from many areas of engineering knowledge, skill, and theory to collaboratively produce a fully functional and useful underwater robot.

Due to COVID-19 suspending the competition for the 2020-21 design year, the specifications for the robot are altered. Most of the specifications are borrowed from competition guidelines, but the robot's design will be modified for open-ocean exploration purposes. Other parameters will also be relaxed slightly to allow for greater design freedom and a more diverse range of applications.