WASSP

This collaboration between Callaghan Innovation (ex-IRL) scientists and Auckland company Electronic Navigation Limited (ENL) took a while. More than 15 years of research, development and testing went into the Wide Angled Sonar Seafloor Profiler or WASSP. Their innovations in signal processing, and especially in the transducer which goes under the boat – they call it the ‘wet end of things’ – have resulted in a product that is vastly better than your average fish finder. ENL wanted a product that was better than the weekend tinny drivers use, but cheaper than military gear.

They wanted to profile the seafloor with a single beam, and show results in glorious colour 3D. Their patented transmitter sends pulses out eight times per second, and covers the seafloor at a 120 degree angle giving amazing 3D images of what’s going on down there. It’s used now by the super-yacht industry as well as by commercial fishermen, survey craft and other workboats and it’s selling in over 40 countries around the world.