Steganographic encoding and decoding

• US 8,908,908 B2
• Filed: 07/08/2013
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Digimarc Corporation
• Inventors: Reed, Alastair M., Sharma, Ravi K., Rodriguez, Tony F.
• Primary Examiner(s): Johns, Andrew W
• Application Number:
  US13/936,766
• Publication Number:
  US 20140037131A1
• Time in Patent Office: 519 Days
• Field of Search: 382/100, 382/162, 382/232, 713/176, 358/3.28
• US Class Current: 382/100
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/005 Robust watermarking, e.g. average attack or collusion attack resistant
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/001 Texturing; Colouring; Generation of texture or colour inpainting G06T5/77
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0083 whereby only watermarked image required at decoder, e.g. source-based, blind, oblivious
• 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 1/32267 combined with processing of the image
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32309 in colour image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6005 with luminance or chrominance signals, e.g. LC1C2, HSL or YUV
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/6008 with primary colour signals, e.g. RGB or CMY(K)
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3228 further additional information (metadata) being comprised in the identification information
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3233 of authentication information, e.g. digital signature, watermark
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes

Abstract

This patent document relates generally to steganography and digital watermarking. One claim recites a method of encoding auxiliary information in an image or video comprising: determining watermark tweaks for attributes of image or video samples to encode auxiliary information in the image or video; and, using a programmed electronic processor, altering color values of the image or video samples to convey the watermark tweaks. The altering alters color values based at least in part on both: i) visibility of color value alterations, and ii) anticipated watermark detection. Of course, other claims and combinations are provided too.

Claims

1. A method of encoding auxiliary information in an image or video comprising:

determining watermark tweaks for attributes of image or video samples to encode auxiliary information in the image or video; and

using a programmed electronic processor, altering color values of the image or video samples to convey the watermark tweaks, said altering alters color values based at least in part on both;

i) visibility of color value alterations, and

ii) anticipated watermark detection.

2. The method of claim 1 in which the anticipated watermark detection comprises a metric representing distortion attributable to an optical sensor.

3. The method of claim 2 in which the distortion comprises at least one of compression, noise or signal sampling.

4. The method of claim 1 in which the color value alterations are in the blue-yellow direction.

5. The method of claim 1 in which the color value alterations affect each of at least a cyan color channel, a magenta color channel and a red color channel, with the watermark tweaks being embedding with different embedding significance in at least two of the color channels.

6. The method of claim 1 in which the color value alterations are made to reduce watermark visibility.

7. The method of claim 1 in which the watermark tweaks comprise a change in luminance, and the color value alterations are made to have an equivalent change in luminance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

8. The method of claim 1 in which the watermark tweaks comprise a change in chrominance, and the color value alterations are made to have an equivalent change in chrominance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

9. A programmed computing device comprising instructions stored in memory to cause said programmed computing device to perform the method of claim 1.

10. An apparatus comprising:

electronic memory for buffering samples corresponding to an image or video;

a processor programmed for;

determining watermark tweaks for attributes of the samples to encode auxiliary information in the image or video; and

altering color values of the samples to convey the watermark tweaks, the altering alters color values based at least in part on both;

i) visibility of color value alterations, and ii) anticipated watermark detection.

11. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the anticipated watermark detection comprises a metric representing distortion attributable to an optical sensor.

12. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the watermark tweaks comprise a change in luminance, and the color value alterations are made to have an equivalent change in luminance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

13. The apparatus of claim 10 in which the watermark tweaks comprise changes in chrominance, and the color value alterations are made to have equivalent changes in chrominance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

14. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored therein to cause a processor to perform the following:

computing a change in an attribute of an image or video sample to encode auxiliary information in the image or video; and

changing color values of the image or video sample to effect the change in the attribute, in which changes to color values are determined based at least in part on both;

i) visibility of the changes, and

ii) anticipated watermark detection.

15. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 in which the anticipated watermark detection comprises a metric representing distortion attributable to an optical sensor.

16. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 in which the changes of color values affect each of at least a cyan color channel, a magenta color channel and a red color channel, with the changes being embedding with different embedding significance in at least two of the color channels.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 in which the changes in the attribute comprise a change in luminance, and the changes in the color values are made to have an equivalent change in luminance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 14 in which the changes in the attribute comprises a change in chrominance, and the changes in the color components are made to have an equivalent change in chrominance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

19. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising instructions stored therein to cause a processor to perform the following:

determining watermark tweaks for attributes of image or video samples to encode auxiliary information in the image or video; and

altering color values of the image or video samples to convey the watermark tweaks, the altering alters color values based at least in part on both;

i) visibility of color value alterations, and

ii) anticipated watermark detection.

20. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the anticipated watermark detection comprises a metric representing distortion attributable to an optical sensor.

21. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 20 in which the distortion comprises at least one of compression, noise or signal sampling.

22. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the color value alterations are in the blue-yellow direction.

23. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the color value alterations affect each of at least a cyan color channel, a magenta color channel and a red color channel, with the watermark tweaks being embedding with different embedding significance in at least two of the color channels.

24. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the color value alterations are made to reduce watermark visibility.

25. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the watermark tweaks comprise changes in luminance, and the color value alterations are made to have equivalent changes in luminance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.

26. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 19 in which the watermark tweaks comprise changes in chrominance, and the color value alterations are made to have equivalent changes in chrominance while being weighted differently among a plurality of color channels.