Watermarking Algorithm for Remote Sensing Images Based on Ring-Shaped Template Watermark and Multiscale LCM

• Published in: Remote sensing (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 16; no. 14; p. 2535
• Main Authors: Zhou, Qifei, Sun, Hua, Pang, Xinyan, Ai, Chi, Zhu, Xiaoye, Zhu, Changqing, Ren, Na
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.07.2024
• Subjects: Algorithms; DFT; Digital watermarks; domain; Embedding; Fourier transforms; geometry; Image contrast; Information processing; local contrast measure; Remote sensing; remote sensing images; Robustness; Symmetry; Synchronism; Synchronization; Target detection; template watermark; Watermarking
• ISSN: 2072-4292; 2072-4292
• DOI: 10.3390/rs16142535

Identifying template watermarks under severe geometric distortions is a significant scientific problem in the current watermarking research for remote sensing images. We propose a novel watermarking algorithm that integrates the ring-shaped template watermark with the multiscale local contrast measure (LCM) method. In the embedding stage, the ring-shaped template watermark is embedded into the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) magnitude coefficients, converting the watermark into small targets in the DFT domain. During the detection stage, the multiscale LCM, a classic infrared small target detection method, enhances these small targets and generates a contrast map. Peak detection is then performed on the contrast map to determine the radius of the template watermark. Finally, circular edge local binarization is applied to extract the watermark information. The proposed method enables synchronization recovery of watermarks under blind conditions. The experimental results demonstrate that the method possesses strong robustness against various geometric attacks such as rotation, scaling, translation, and cropping. It outperforms comparative algorithms in terms of robustness and also exhibits good imperceptibility.