What is "spurv"

SPURV, or Self-Propelled Underwater Research Vehicle, was an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle built in 1957 at the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory. The research and development of this vehicle was funded by the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR), and it became the US Navy’s first autonomous underwater vehicle (AOV). The navy used a total of 7 SPURV vehicles until 1979.