Methods for audio watermarking and decoding

• US 8,051,294 B2
• Filed: 05/19/2009
• Issued: 11/01/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/1993
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Rhoads, Geoffrey B.
• Primary Examiner(s): PYZOCHA, MICHAEL J
• Application Number:
  US12/468,727
• Publication Number:
  US 20100131767A1
• Time in Patent Office: 896 Days
• Field of Search: 713/176, 726/30, 726/32
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/1235 with control of digital rights management [DRM]
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/306 using TV related infrastructures external card used for payment with client device H04N21/4185
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/341 Active cards, i.e. cards including their own processing means, e.g. including an IC or chip
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 20/40145 Biometric identity checks
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0028 Adaptive watermarking, e.g. Human Visual System [HVS]-based watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0057 Compression invariant watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0052 Embedding of the watermark in the frequency domain
• CPC Class Codes: G07C 9/253 visually
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/0032 using holograms
• CPC Class Codes: G07D 7/004 using digital security elements, e.g. information coded on a magnetic thread or strip
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 17/26 for printing, stamping, franking, typing or teleprinting apparatus ticket printing or the like apparatus G07F17/42
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/08 by coded identity card or credit card or other personal identification means without personal verification means G07F7/02
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/086 by passive credit-cards adapted therefor, e.g. constructive particularities to avoid counterfeiting, e.g. by inclusion of a physical or chemical security-layer for security documents G07D7/00; for the reading of record-carriers in general G06K7/00; for the design of coded credit-cards G06K19/10
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1008 Active credit-cards provided with means to personalise their use, e.g. with PIN-introduction/comparison system
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/1016 Devices or methods for securing the PIN and other transaction-data, e.g. by encryption arrangements for secret communication, see H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G07F 7/12 Card verification
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/018 Audio watermarking, i.e. embedding inaudible data in the audio signal
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 19/022 Blocking, i.e. grouping of samples in time; Choice of analysis windows; Overlap factoring
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00086 Circuits for prevention of unauthorised reproduction or copying, e.g. piracy indicating unauthorised use of record carriers in general G11B23/28; scrambling for television signal recording H04N5/913; network architectures or network protocols for network security H04L63/00; cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00094 : involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised record carriers
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00115 : wherein the record carrier stores a unique medium identifier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00166 : involving measures which result in a restriction to authorised contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier, e.g. music or software
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00181 : using a content identifier, e.g. an international standard recording code [ISRC] or a digital object identifier [DOI]
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/0021 : involving encryption or decryption of contents recorded on or reproduced from a record carrier
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00231 : wherein the key is obtained from a local external medium, e.g. a card
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00492 : wherein content or user data is encrypted
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00884 : involving a watermark, i.e. a barely perceptible transformation of the original data which can nevertheless be recognised by an algorithm
• CPC Class Codes: G11B 20/00891 : embedded in audio data
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/665 : using psychoacoustic properties of the ear, e.g. masking effect
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00005 : relating to image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00037 : Detecting, i.e. determining the occurrence of a predetermined state H04N1/00031 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/00079 : remotely
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32128 : attached to the image data, e.g. file header, transmitted message header, information on the same page or in the same computer file as the image for information embedded in the image H04N1/32144
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 : embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32203 : Spatial or amplitude domain methods H04N1/32309 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32208 : involving changing the magnitude of selected pixels, e.g. overlay of information or super-imposition H04N1/32219, H04N1/32224 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32229 : with selective or adaptive application of the additional information, e.g. in selected regions of the image H04N1/32213 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32251 : in multilevel data, e.g. greyscale or continuous tone data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32288 : Multiple embedding, e.g. cocktail embedding, or redundant embedding, e.g. repeating the additional information at a plurality of locations in the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91321 : the copy protection signal being a copy protection control signal, e.g. a record inhibit signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2005/91335 : the copy protection signal being a watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3205 : of identification information, e.g. name or ID code H04N2201/3209 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3207 : of an address
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3225 : of data relating to an image, a page or a document
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3226 : of identification information or the like, e.g. ID code, index, title, part of an image, reduced-size image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 : of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3246 : of data relating to permitted access or usage, e.g. level of access or usage parameters for digital rights management [DRM] related to still images
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3249 : data relating to a linked page or object, e.g. hyperlink
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 : which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3271 : Printing or stamping
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3278 : Transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/328 : Processing of the additional information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 5/913 : for scrambling ; for copy protection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/08 : Systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal, e.g. additional information signals, the signals occupying wholly or partially the same frequency band , e.g. by time division H04N7/007 takes precedence

Abstract

The presently claimed invention relates generally to encoding and decoding audio signals to include auxiliary information. One example encoding technique includes steganography. One method recites: using a microphone, obtaining an audio signal carried by sound waves; utilizing an analog-to-digital converter to convert the audio signal into a digital audio signal; utilizing a programmed electronic processor, extracting auxiliary data from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, the segments conveying the same auxiliary data, yet the segments represent the auxiliary data differently as code signals carrying the same auxiliary data change over the blocks, the auxiliary data being steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and utilizing a programmed electronic processor, utilizing the auxiliary data from the series of segments to increase confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data, the auxiliary data being separately decoded from the segments and combined to increase the confidence of extraction of the auxiliary data. Of course, other combination and claims are provided as well.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a microphone configured to capture an audio signal;

an analog-to-digital converter configured to convert the audio signal into a digital audio signal;

a memory configured to buffer the digital audio signal; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to;

extract auxiliary data from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, wherein the segments convey the same auxiliary data as code signals that change over the segments, and wherein the auxiliary data is steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and

decode and combine the auxiliary data from the series of segments to increase a confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the code signals are configured to change randomly based at least in part on a key value.

3. A method comprising:

obtaining, using a microphone, an audio signal;

converting, using an analog-to-digital converter, the audio signal into a digital audio signal;

extracting auxiliary data, using a processor, from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, wherein the segments convey the same auxiliary data as code signals that change over the segments, and wherein the auxiliary data is steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and

decoding and combining the auxiliary data, using the processor, from the series of segments to increase a confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the code signals are configured to change randomly based at least in part on a key value.

5. A device, comprising:

a memory configured to store an audio signal; and

a processor operatively coupled to the memory and configured to;

obtain the audio signal;

convert the audio signal into a digital audio signal;

extract auxiliary data from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, wherein the segments convey the same auxiliary data as code signals that change over the segments, and wherein the auxiliary data is steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and

decode and combine the auxiliary data from the series of segments to increase a confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data.

6. The device of claim 5, wherein the code signals are configured to change randomly based at least in part on a key value.

7. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions stored thereon, the instructions comprising:

instructions to obtain an audio signal;

instructions to convert the audio signal into a digital audio signal;

instructions to extract auxiliary data from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, wherein the segments convey the same auxiliary data as code signals that change over the segments, and wherein the auxiliary data is steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and

instructions to decode and combine the auxiliary data from the series of segments to increase a confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data.

8. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the code signals are configured to change randomly based at least in part on a key value.

9. An apparatus comprising:

means for capturing an audio signal;

means for converting the audio signal into a digital audio signal;

means for buffering the digital audio signal; and

means for extracting auxiliary data from a series of segments of the digital audio signal, wherein the segments convey the same auxiliary data as code signals that change over the segments, and wherein the auxiliary data is steganographically hidden in the digital audio signal; and

means for decoding and combining the auxiliary data from the series of segments to increase a confidence of accurate extraction of the auxiliary data.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the code signals are configured to change randomly based at least in part on a key value.