Research Article Underwater Image Gathering by Utilizing Stationary and Movable Sensor Nodes: Towards Observation of Symbiosis System in the Coral Reef of Okinawa Kuniaki Kawabata, 1,2 Fumiaki Takemura, 3 Tsuyoshi Suzuki, 4 Kei Sawai, 4 Eisuke Kuraya, 5 Satoru Takahashi, 6 Hideyuki Yamashiro, 7 Naoko Isomura, 8 and Jianru Xue 2 1 RIKEN-XJTU Joint Research Unit, RIKEN, 2-1 Hirosawa, Wako-shi, Saitama 351-0198, Japan 2 Institute of Artiicial Intelligence and Robotics, Xi’an Jiaotong University, 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710049, China 3 Department of Mechanical System Engineering, Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-shi, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan 4 Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Tokyo Denki University, 5 Senju-Asahi-cho, Adachi-ku, Tokyo 120-8551, Japan 5 Science and Technology Division, Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-shi, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan 6 Department of Intelligent Mechanical Systems Engineering, Kagawa University, 2217-20 Hayashi-cho, Takamatsu, Kagawa 761-0396, Japan 7 Sesoko Station, Tropical Biosphere Research Center, University of the Ryukyus, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 905-0227, Japan 8 Department of Bioresources Engineering, Okinawa National College of Technology, 905 Henoko, Nago-shi, Okinawa 905-2192, Japan Correspondence should be addressed to Kuniaki Kawabata; kuniakik@riken.jp Received 17 November 2013; Revised 16 June 2014; Accepted 19 June 2014; Published 14 July 2014 Academic Editor: Francesco Grimaccia Copyright © 2014 Kuniaki Kawabata et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. his paper describes the underwater data collection utilizing stationary sensor node and movable sensor node. We consider applying the system to investigate the conditions of marine ecosystem around the coral reef at Okinawa, Japan. he framework and fundamental design of our proposed underwater information gathering system under development are introduced. It is also reported the development of the prototypes of the sensory node and movable sensor node. Basic examinations utilizing such prototype at underwater environment are also described. his paper also describes experimental results of image gathering from via wireless local area network communication. Our future trials based on the current developmental situation are also discussed. 1. Introduction he water covers the earth with over 70%. It includes oceans, rivers, lakes, ponds, and glaciers. he ocean is the big one among them. In recent reports related to climate changes [1, 2], the changes in the ocean environment will be afecting our society. Currently, actual condition surveys on underwater environment and marine ecosystems are conducted in the world. In Japan, there are coral reefs [3] around Okinawa islands (Figure 1) and coral reef check [4] is also conduct- ing to investigate their status. Currently, the divers and the experts are doing such investigations. In general investi- gation process, water status data and observation data related to sea animals (species, number, size, etc.) around the coral are collected. However, the works are a heavy physical burden to the investigators and it makes it diicult to carry out a continuous or frequent survey. herefore, it is very important to make such survey more efective and support investigation activities. In recent years, sensor network technologies [5, 6] are currently developed to be used in various practical applica- tions. A typical application of sensor networks is to monitor Hindawi Publishing Corporation International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks Volume 2014, Article ID 835642, 10 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/835642