Fractal and neural networks based watermark identification

Abstract

Transform techniques generally are more robust than spatial techniques for watermark embedding. In this paper, a color image watermarking algorithm based on fractal and neural networks in Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) domain is proposed. We apply fractal image coding technique to obtain the characteristic data of a gray-level image watermark signal and encrypt the characteristic data by a symmetric encryption before they are embedded. We then use neural networks and Human Visual System (HVS) to embed the watermark in the DCT domain. A Just Noticeable Difference (JND) threshold controller is designed to ensure the strength of the embedded data adapting to the host image itself entirely. Aiming at misjudging problem of the extracting process, maximum membership principle criterion is selected for identifying the watermark. And the CIELab color space is chosen to guarantee the stability of the results. The simulation results show that the algorithm is robust for common digital image processing methods as attacks and that the quality of the image is retained.