Power efficient detection of watermarks in media signals

• US 9,418,395 B1
• Filed: 12/31/2014
• Issued: 08/16/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/31/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Gupta, Sadhana, Gish, David, Kuznetsov, Vladimir, Lynch, Wendell D., Neuhauser, Alan R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yentrapati, Avinash
• Application Number:
  US14/587,995
• Time in Patent Office: 594 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0021 Image watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2200/28 involving image processing hardware
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0065 Extraction of an embedded watermark; Reliable detection
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/42 characterised by implementation details or hardware specially adapted for video compression or decompression, e.g. dedicated software implementation H04N19/635 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 19/467 characterised by the embedded information being invisible, e.g. watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4394 involving operations for analysing the audio stream, e.g. detecting features or characteristics in audio streams arrangements characterised by components specially adapted for monitoring, identification or recognition of audio in broadcast systems H04H60/58
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4436 Power management, e.g. shutting down unused components of the receiver power management in computer systems G06F1/3203; hibernate or awake process in computer systems G06F9/4418
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/8358 involving watermark protecting executable software by watermarking G06F21/16; image watermarking in general G06T1/0021; watermarks inserted in still images for transmission purposes H04N1/32144; inserting watermarks during video coding H04N19/467

Abstract

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture (e.g., physical storage media) to implement power efficient detection of watermarks in media signals are disclosed. Example watermark detection methods disclosed herein include operating a watermark detector in a first operating mode to search for a first watermark in a media signal. Such disclosed example methods also include, in response to detecting the first watermark, determining whether the first watermark satisfies a first condition. Such disclosed example methods further include, in response to determining the first watermark satisfies the first condition, operating the watermark detector in a second operating mode in which the watermark detector cycles between a sleep interval and an active interval to detect a second watermark at a second location in the media signal relative to a first location of the first watermark in the media signal.

Claims

1. A watermark detection method comprising:

operating a watermark detector in a first operating mode to search for a first watermark in a media signal;

in response to detecting the first watermark, determining, with a processor, whether the first watermark satisfies a first condition; and

in response to determining the first watermark satisfies the first condition, operating the watermark detector in a second operating mode in which the watermark detector cycles between a sleep interval and an active interval to detect a second watermark at a second location in the media signal relative to a first location of the first watermark in the media signal.

2. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first watermark includes a first group of symbols and a second group of symbols, the first group of symbols being repeated in the first watermark and the second watermark, the second group of symbols differing between the first watermark and the second watermark, and detecting the first watermark includes detecting the first group of symbols in the media signal.

3. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first watermark satisfies the first condition when the first group of symbols of the first watermark match a corresponding first group of symbols repeated in a third watermark detected by the watermark detector in the media signal within a first time period prior to detection of the first watermark.

4. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first watermark satisfies the first condition when respective ones of the first group of symbols of the first watermark satisfy respective symbol strength conditions.

5. The method as defined in claim 2, wherein operating the watermark detector in the second operating mode includes operating the watermark detector to detect, in the media signal, the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark.

6. The method as defined in claim 2, further including, after operating the watermark detector in the second operating mode for a first time period:

continuing to operate the watermark detector in the second operating mode if, during the first time period, at least one of (i) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark satisfies a first symbol strength condition or (ii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark match at least a first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark; and

transitioning operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode if, during the first time period, (iii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not satisfy the first symbol strength condition and (iv) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not match at least the first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark.

7. The method as defined in claim 6, wherein the sleep interval is a first sleep interval, and transitioning operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode includes:

transitioning operation of the watermark detector to the first operating mode if a second condition is met; and

if the second condition is not met, transitioning operation of the operation of the watermark detector to a third operating mode in which the watermark detector is to (i) sleep for at least one of the first sleep interval or a second sleep interval different from the first sleep interval, and then (ii) transition operation to the first operating mode.

8. The method as defined in claim 1, further including searching a buffer of prior watermark symbols evaluated by the watermark detector to detect a third watermark in the media signal in response to at least one of:

(i) detecting the first watermark or (ii) detecting the second watermark at a third location in the media signal different from the second location.

9. The method as defined in claim 1, wherein the sleep interval is a first sleep interval, and further including:

in response to not detecting the first watermark for a first time period of operating the watermark detector in the first operating mode, determining whether a second condition is met;

if the second condition is met, continuing to operate the watermark detector in the first operating mode; and

if the second condition is not met, transitioning operation of the watermark detector to a third operating mode in which the watermark detector is to (i) sleep for at least one of the first sleep interval or a second sleep interval different from the first sleep interval then (ii) transition operation to the first operating mode.

10. A tangible machine readable storage medium comprising machine readable instructions which, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

operate a watermark detector in a first operating mode to search for a first watermark in a media signal;

in response to the first watermark being detected, determine whether the first watermark satisfies a first condition; and

in response to the first watermark satisfying the first condition, operate the watermark detector in a second operating mode in which the watermark detector cycles between a sleep interval and an active interval to detect a second watermark at a second location in the media signal relative to a first location of the first watermark in the media signal.

11. The storage medium as defined in claim 10, wherein the first watermark includes a first group of symbols and a second group of symbols, the first group of symbols being repeated in the first watermark and the second watermark, the second group of symbols differing between the first watermark and the second watermark, and to detect the first watermark, the instructions, when executed, cause the machine to detect the first group of symbols in the media signal.

12. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the first watermark satisfies the first condition when the first group of symbols of the first watermark match a corresponding first group of symbols repeated in a third watermark detected by the watermark detector in the media signal within a first time period prior to detection of the first watermark.

13. The storage medium as defined in claim 11, wherein the machine readable instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to, after the watermark detector has operated in the second operating mode for a first time period:

continue to operate the watermark detector in the second operating mode if, during the first time period, at least one of (i) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark satisfies a first symbol strength condition or (ii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark match at least a first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark; and

transition operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode if, during the first time period, (iii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not satisfy the first symbol strength condition and (iv) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not match at least the first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark.

14. The storage medium as defined in claim 13, wherein the sleep interval is a first sleep interval, and to transition operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode, the instructions, when executed, further cause the machine to:

transition operation of the watermark detector to the first operating mode if a second condition is met; and

if the second condition is not met, transition operation of the watermark detector to a third operating mode in which the watermark detector is to (i) sleep for at least one of the first sleep interval or a second sleep interval different from the first sleep interval, and then (ii) transition operation to the first operating mode.

15. A watermark detector controller comprising:

a watermark verifier to;

operate a watermark detector in a first operating mode to search for a first watermark in a media signal; and

in response to the first watermark being detected, determine whether the first watermark satisfies a first condition; and

a watermark confirmer to, in response to the first watermark satisfying the first condition, operate the watermark detector in a second operating mode in which the watermark detector cycles between a sleep interval and an active interval to detect a second watermark at a second location in the media signal relative to a first location of the first watermark in the media signal.

16. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the first watermark includes a first group of symbols and a second group of symbols, the first group of symbols being repeated in the first watermark and the second watermark, the second group of symbols differing between the first watermark and the second watermark, and to detect the first watermark, the watermark verifier is to operate the watermark detector to detect the first group of symbols in the media signal.

17. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the first watermark satisfies the first condition when the first group of symbols of the first watermark match a corresponding first group of symbols repeated in a third watermark detected by the watermark detector in the media signal within a first time period prior to detection of the first watermark.

18. The apparatus as defined in claim 16, wherein the watermark confirmer is further to, after watermark detector has operated in the second operating mode for a first time period:

continue to operate the watermark detector in the second operating mode if, during the first time period, at least one of (i) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark satisfies a first symbol strength condition or (ii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark match at least a first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark; and

transition operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode if, during the first time period, (iii) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not satisfy the first symbol strength condition and (iv) the first group of symbols repeated in the second watermark does not match at least the first number of the corresponding first group of symbols of the first watermark.

19. The apparatus as defined in claim 18, wherein the sleep interval is a first sleep interval, and to transition operation of the watermark detector out of the second operating mode, an further including a trigger evaluator to:

transition operation of the watermark detector to the first operating mode if a second condition is met; and

if the second condition is not met, transition operation of the watermark detector to a third operating mode in which the watermark detector is to (i) sleep for at least one of the first sleep interval or a second sleep interval different from the first sleep interval, and then (ii) transition operation to the first operating mode.

20. The apparatus as defined in claim 15, wherein the sleep interval is a first sleep interval, and further including a trigger evaluator to:

in response to the first watermark not being detected for a first time period of operating the watermark detector in the first operating mode, determine whether a second condition is met;

if the second condition is met, continue to operate the watermark detector in the first operating mode; and

if the second condition is not met, transition operation of the operation of the watermark detector to a third operating mode in which the watermark detector is to (i) sleep for at least one of the first sleep interval or a second sleep interval different from the first sleep interval then (ii) transition operation to the first operating mode.