Abdelkader H. Ouda and Mahmoud El-Sakka, "Wavelet Transforms and Their Applications in Image Watermarking'', TR#633, (15 pages), Computer Science Department, University of Western Ontario, September 2004, London, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

The development of the image compression techniques, such as JPEG and more recently the JPEG2000, allowed the widespread use of images in the Internet, as well as the digital TV broadcast. This is because compressed digital images can be distributed via the worldwide Internet users in a cost-efficient way. This development brings also a new challenge that is duplications or even manipulation the images content become so easy and difficult to observe. Therefore, it is strongly needed to secure these images in order to keep their distribution works reliable. Over the past few years, digital watermarking has become one of the most suitable solutions for image security issues. In this work, we will study an outline of the watermarking techniques available today, which try to utilize the wavelet transform properties. This study will demonstrate how the wavelet transform properties, such as multi-resolution property of the wavelet image decomposition, space-frequency localization, or Human Visual System (HVS) model, can be implemented. The advantages and disadvantages of these implementations will be discussed as well.