In this paper, we improve the performance of the hierarchical detector we proposed in [1] for real-time software or low-cost hardware implementation. Although the original hierarchical detector is faster than sub-sampled brute force-base detector when processing marked images, it unnecessarily continues to process unmarked images looking for a watermark that is not present. This processing is time-consuming; hence, it represents a significant deployment obstacle. The improved detector, however, avoids most of the processing of the unmarked areas of an image by exploiting the presence of a reference signal usually included with the embedded watermark. This reference signal enables the detector to synchronize the image after it has been subjected to a geometric transformation (scaling, rotation, and translation). The improved detector refrains from searching an image area any further whenever the level of the reference signal is very weak or the estimated scale factors and rotation angles associated with this reference signal are not consistent among the processed blocks within the same layer in the hierarchy. The proposed detector has been implemented, and the experimental results indicate that the proposed detector is computationally more efficient with unmarked images, while achieving a detection rate similar to that of the original hierarchical detector.
In this paper, we propose a new method for watermarking electronic text documents that contain justified paragraphs and irregular line spacing. The proposed method uses a spread-spectrum technique to combat the effects of irregular word or line spacing. It also uses a BCH (Bose-Chaudhuri-Hocquenghem) error coding technique to protect the payload from the noise resulting from the printing and scanning process. Watermark embedding in a justified paragraph is achieved by slightly increasing or decreasing the spaces between words according to the value of the corresponding watermark bit. Similarly, watermark embedding in a text document with variable line spacing is achieved by slightly increasing or decreasing the distance between any two adjacent lines according to the value of the watermark bit. Detecting the watermark is achieved by measuring the spaces between the words or the lines and correlating them with the spreading sequence. In this paper, we present an implementation of the proposed algorithm and discuss its simulation results.
KEYWORDS: Digital watermarking, CMYK color model, Phase modulation, Digital imaging, Modulation, Printing, Cameras, Sensors, Signal attenuation, Solids
Watermarking of printed materials has usually focused on process inks of cyan, magenta, yellow and black (CMYK). In packaging, almost three out of four printed materials include spot colors. Spot colors are special premixed inks, which can be produced in a vibrant range of colors, often outside the CMYK color gamut. In embedding a watermark into printed material, a common approach is to modify the luminance value of each pixel in the image. In the case of process color work pieces, the luminance change can be scaled to the C, M, Y and K channels using a weighting function, to produce the desired change in luminance. In the case of spot color art designs, there is only one channel available and the luminance change is applied to this channel. In this paper we develop a weighting function to embed the watermark signal across the range of different spot colors. This weighting function normalizes visibility effect and signal robustness across a wide range of different spot colors. It normalizes the signal robustness level over the range of an individual spot color’s intensity levels. Further, it takes into account the sensitivity of the capturing device to the different spot colors.
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