The SWIGacoustic standard: An acoustic communication standard for the offshore energy community

This paper describes industry efforts to develop an underwater acoustic communications standard for the offshore energy community. The Subsea Wireless Group (SWiG), an international oil and gas industry network comprising operators, installers, and technology companies, assessed a variety of potential use cases and possible routes to develop a common standard, culminating in the selection of the JANUS standard as a template. The paper explores typical use cases, the benefits of standardisation for technology developers and users, identification of gaps in the JANUS standard, and current progress in developing the standard.