Apparatus, method, and program product for detecting digital watermark

• US 7,724,917 B2
• Filed: 08/18/2006
• Issued: 05/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 01/20/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Isogai, Taichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bella; Matthew C
• Assistant Examiner(s): Rosario; Dennis
• Application Number:
  US11/465,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20070172095A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,376 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0071 using multiple or alternating watermarks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0085 Time domain based watermarking, e.g. watermarks spread over several images
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection

Abstract

A digital watermark detection apparatus detects a watermark value from a motion image in which a topological invariant is embedded as the watermark value. The digital watermark detection apparatus includes a watermark component extracting unit which extracts each watermark component from the motion image; an average value computing unit which computes an average value of component values of pixels included in the watermark component; an identified watermark component determination unit which determines whether or not the watermark component is an identified watermark component to be utilized in identifying an arrangement unit of a plurality of watermark components based on the average value; a watermark component identifying unit which identifies the watermark component except for the identified watermark component; and a watermark value computing unit which computes the watermark value based on the identified watermark component and the watermark components except for the identified watermark component.

Claims

1. A digital watermark detection apparatus, which detects a watermark value from a motion image in which a topological invariant is embedded as the watermark value, the apparatus comprising:

a watermark component extracting unit which extracts each watermark component from the motion image in which the watermark value is embedded, where the watermark value includes a plurality of different watermark components arranged according to a predetermined arrangement regularity;

an average value computing unit which computes an average value of component values of each pixel included in the watermark component;

an identified watermark component determination unit which determines, based on the average value, whether or not the watermark component is a determined identified watermark component which is to be utilized in identifying an arrangement unit of a plurality of watermark components included in the same watermark value within the plurality of watermark components included in the watermark value;

a watermark component identifying unit which identifies each watermark component except for the determined identified watermark component based on the identified watermark component and the arrangement regularity, where the each watermark component is included in the watermark value; and

a watermark value computing unit which computes a watermark value based on the determined identified watermark component and the watermark components identified by the watermark component identifying unit.

2. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watermark component extracting unit extracts the plurality of watermark components, and

the identified watermark component determination unit determines that the watermark component having the average value different from that of the other watermark components is the identified watermark component.

3. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the identified watermark component determination unit determines that the watermark component having the average value which becomes a value except for 0 is the identified watermark component.

4. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watermark value in which the topological invariant is set at a homotopy class is embedded in a frame included in the motion image, and the watermark value includes an X component, a Y component, and a Z component as the watermark components, and

the identified watermark component determination unit determines the Z component as the identified watermark component.

5. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a relationship between an area where the X component is embedded and an area where the Z component is embedded and a relationship between an area where the Y component is embedded and the area where the Z component is embedded are previously determined, and

the watermark component identifying unit identifies the X component and the Y component based on the Z component determined as the identified watermark component, the relationship between the area where the X component is embedded and the area where the Z component is embedded, and the relationship between the area where the Y component is embedded and the area where the Z component is embedded.

6. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of watermark components are embedded in each frame included in the motion image, and

the watermark component extracting unit extracts the watermark components from each frame included in the motion image.

7. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising:

a difference frame computing unit which computes a difference frame of each frame;

a variance value computing unit which computes a variance value of the component value of each pixel included in the difference frame; and

a watermark component existence determination unit which determines whether or not the watermark component is embedded in the difference frame based on the variance value,

wherein the watermark component extracting unit extracts the watermark component from the difference frame in which the watermark component is determined to be included.

8. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watermark component is embedded in each of a plurality of embedded areas in each frame included in the motion image, and

the watermark component extracting unit extracts the watermark components from each of the embedded area.

9. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the watermark components are embedded in each color space included in the motion image,

the average value computing unit computes the average value of the color spaces as the average value of the component values of each pixel included in the watermark component,

the identified watermark component determination unit determines any one of color spaces included in the motion image as the identified watermark component, and

the watermark component extracting unit extracts the color space except for the identified watermark component in the motion image as the watermark component.

10. The digital watermark detection apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the same watermark value is embedded in the plurality of frames,

the identified watermark component included in the watermark value is embedded in the same color space in the plurality of frames, and

the digital watermark detection apparatus further comprises a switching determination unit which determines whether or not the watermark value is switched based on the color space determined as the identified watermark component by the identified watermark component determination unit.

11. A method of detecting a digital watermark, which detects a watermark value from a motion image in which a topological invariant is embedded as the watermark value, the method comprising:

extracting each watermark component from the motion image in which the watermark value is embedded, where the watermark value includes a plurality of different watermark components arranged according to a predetermined arrangement regularity;

computing an average value of component values of each pixel included in the extracted watermark component;

determining, based on the average value, whether or not the watermark component is a determined identified watermark component which is to be utilized in identifying an arrangement unit of a plurality of watermark components included in the same watermark value within the plurality of watermark components included in the watermark value;

identifying each watermark component except for the determined identified watermark component based on the determined identified watermark component and the arrangement regularity; and

computing a watermark value based on the determined identified watermark component and the watermark component identified by the watermark component identifying unit.

12. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of watermark components are extracted, and

the watermark component having the average value different from that of the other watermark components is determined to be the identified watermark component.

13. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 12, wherein the watermark component having the average value which becomes a value except for 0 is determined to be the identified watermark component.

14. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11, wherein the watermark value in which the topological invariant is set at a homotopy class is embedded in a frame included in the motion image,

the watermark value includes an X component, a Y component, and a Z component as the watermark components, and

the Z component is determined as the identified watermark component.

15. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 14, wherein a relationship between an area where the X component is embedded and an area where the Z component is embedded, and a relationship between an area where the Y component is embedded and the area where the Z component is embedded are previously determined, and

the X component and the Y component are identified based on the Z component determined as the identified watermark component and the relationships.

16. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11, wherein the plurality of watermark components are embedded in each frame included in the motion image, and

the watermark components are extracted from each frame included in the motion image.

17. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11 further comprising:

computing a difference frame of each frame;

computing a variance value of the component value of each pixel included in the difference frame;

determining whether or not the watermark component is embedded in the difference frame based on the variance value; and

extracting the watermark component from the difference frame in which the watermark component is determined to be included.

18. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11, wherein the watermark component is embedded in each of a plurality of embedded areas in each frame included in the motion image, and

the watermark component is extracted from each of the embedded area.

19. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 11, wherein the watermark components are embedded in each color space included in the motion image,

the average value of the color spaces is computed as the average value of the component values of each pixel included in the watermark component, any one of color spaces included in the motion image is determined as the identified watermark component, and

the color spaces except for the identified watermark component in the motion image are extracted as the watermark component.

20. The method of detecting a digital watermark according to claim 19, wherein the same watermark value is embedded in the plurality of frames, the identified watermark component included in the watermark value is embedded in the same color space in the plurality of frames, and

a switching of the watermark value is determined based on the color space determined as the identified watermark component.

21. A computer program product having a computer readable medium including programmed instructions, which detects a watermark value from a motion image in which a topological invariant is embedded as the watermark value, wherein the instructions, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform:

extracting each watermark component from the motion image in which the watermark value is embedded, where the watermark value includes a plurality of different watermark components arranged according to a predetermined arrangement regularity;

computing an average value of component values of each pixel included in the extracted watermark component;

determining, based on the average value, whether or not the watermark component is a determined identified watermark component which is to be utilized in identifying an arrangement unit of a plurality of watermark components included in the same watermark value within the plurality of watermark components included in the watermark value;

identifying each watermark components except for the determined identified watermark component based on the determined identified watermark component and the arrangement regularity; and

computing a watermark value based on the determined identified watermark component and the watermark component identified by the watermark component identifying unit.