WBAT - Wide Band Autonomous Transceiver

The WBAT uses wideband echo-sounding technology to discriminate between plankton and different fish species producing high-quality, high-resolution scientific data.

The WBAT Transceiver comprises a rugged cylinder providing all necessary transmitter and receiver electronics, a battery, and the necessary interface and control circuitry.

The WBAT is at the forefront of monitoring marine life. The instrument
is available in two versions. The standard version is enclosed in an
aluminum housing and the depth range is 1500m. The extended version is
enclosed in a steel housing and the depth range is 6000 m.

Key features

• Autonomous all-in-one echo sounder
• Advanced mission control using the EK Mission Planner
• Internal battery and data storage
• More than 1-year deployment
• Depth rated to 1500 m and 6000 m
• Frequencies from 30 to 500 kHz
• Connects two split-beam or four single-beam transducers
• Chirp and CW pulse forms
• Standardized Simrad® EK80 raw data format
• Built-in calibration tool
• A wide range of transducers is available

Typical applications

• Ocean Observatories
• Fish migration studies
• Long-term biological studies
• Improved fish stock assessment
• Water column profiling
• The instrumentation on ROVs and AUVs

Proven technology

The Simrad WBAT uses the same technology as the Wide Band Transceiver (WBT), but it has been redesigned for a compact and energy-efficient solution. Four independent channels can be used as multiple single-beam channels or working together with a split-beam transducer. With the built-in multiplexer, you can also connect two split-beam transducers simultaneously using sequential pinging.

The advantage of the WBAT is that you can collect data in a format, and of a quality, that you already know from the Simrad EK80 scientific echo sounder. Regardless of whether the data is collected from the ship sounders, a profiling probe, or other platforms; the echo sounders use the same data format. This means that the data from different sources can be easily integrated. As with the EK80, the WBAT is capable of split-beam operation, which means that it can be calibrated to the same standards and with the same methods as the EK80.

Kongsberg Maritime technology has already proven the pressure-rated housing used by the Simrad WBAT, along with the connections and the internal battery. These components have been used in our transponders for many years.