Quantum color image watermarking scheme based on quantum discrete cosine transform

• Published in: Physica scripta Vol. 99; no. 11; pp. 115113 - 115130
• Main Authors: Li, Zhen-Zhen, Li, Ya-Jing, Zhang, Zhao, Wang, Dong-Fei, Wang, Jing-Tao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: IOP Publishing 01.11.2024
• Subjects: quantum color images; quantum discrete cosine transform; quantum LOG edge detection; quantum watermark
• ISSN: 0031-8949; 1402-4896
• DOI: 10.1088/1402-4896/ad81da

Quantum watermarking is a technique that embeds specific information into a quantum carrier, used for digital copyright protection. This paper introduces a new quantum color image watermarking method that combines Quantum LOG (QLOG) edge detection with Quantum Discrete Cosine Transform (QDCT) technology. First, edge detection is used on the RGB channels of the quantum color image. This helps identify the best channel for embedding the watermark. Next, the image is decomposed using the quantum Haar wavelet transform (QHWT). The image is then processed with QDCT, selecting the mid-frequency parts for watermark embedding. Using QDCT improves the watermark’s resistance to JPEG compression. The invisibility of the watermark is verified by assessing its Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and histogram. Comparative analysis shows strong resistance to various noise attacks. Simulation results confirm that the watermarking technique maintains high visual quality and resists different adversarial attacks.