Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment

To achieve a good trade-off between the data-embedding payload and the data-embedding distortion, mainstream reversible data hiding (RDH) algorithms perform data embedding on a well-built prediction error histogram. This requires us to design a good predictor to determine the prediction errors of co...

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Main Authors: Limengnan Zhou, Chongfu Zhang, Asad Malik, Hanzhou Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2022-08-01
Series:Mathematics
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/10/15/2804
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author Limengnan Zhou
Chongfu Zhang
Asad Malik
Hanzhou Wu
author_facet Limengnan Zhou
Chongfu Zhang
Asad Malik
Hanzhou Wu
author_sort Limengnan Zhou
collection DOAJ
description To achieve a good trade-off between the data-embedding payload and the data-embedding distortion, mainstream reversible data hiding (RDH) algorithms perform data embedding on a well-built prediction error histogram. This requires us to design a good predictor to determine the prediction errors of cover elements and find a good strategy to construct an ordered prediction error sequence to be embedded. However, many existing RDH algorithms use a fixed predictor throughout the prediction process, which does not take into account the statistical characteristics of local context. Moreover, during the construction of the prediction error sequence, these algorithms ignore the fact that adjacent cover elements may have the identical priority of data embedding. As a result, there is still room for improving the payload-distortion performance. Motivated by this insight, in this article, we propose a new content prediction and selection strategy for efficient RDH in digital images to provide better payload-distortion performance. The core idea is to construct multiple connected components for a given cover image so that the prediction errors of the cover pixels within a connected component are close to each other. Accordingly, the most suitable connected components can be preferentially used for data embedding. Moreover, the prediction errors of the cover pixels are adaptively adjusted according to their local context, allowing a relatively sharp prediction error histogram to be constructed. Experimental results validate that the proposed method is significantly superior to some advanced works regarding payload-distortion performance, demonstrating the practicality of our method.
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spelling doaj.art-87fc7243edd647718a1ce7c39dbd1d442023-12-03T12:48:44ZengMDPI AGMathematics2227-73902022-08-011015280410.3390/math10152804Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error AdjustmentLimengnan Zhou0Chongfu Zhang1Asad Malik2Hanzhou Wu3School of Electronic and Information Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Zhongshan Institute, Zhongshan 528402, ChinaSchool of Information and Communication Engineering, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, ChinaDepartment of Computer Science, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh 202002, IndiaSchool of Communication and Information Engineering, Shanghai University, Shanghai 200444, ChinaTo achieve a good trade-off between the data-embedding payload and the data-embedding distortion, mainstream reversible data hiding (RDH) algorithms perform data embedding on a well-built prediction error histogram. This requires us to design a good predictor to determine the prediction errors of cover elements and find a good strategy to construct an ordered prediction error sequence to be embedded. However, many existing RDH algorithms use a fixed predictor throughout the prediction process, which does not take into account the statistical characteristics of local context. Moreover, during the construction of the prediction error sequence, these algorithms ignore the fact that adjacent cover elements may have the identical priority of data embedding. As a result, there is still room for improving the payload-distortion performance. Motivated by this insight, in this article, we propose a new content prediction and selection strategy for efficient RDH in digital images to provide better payload-distortion performance. The core idea is to construct multiple connected components for a given cover image so that the prediction errors of the cover pixels within a connected component are close to each other. Accordingly, the most suitable connected components can be preferentially used for data embedding. Moreover, the prediction errors of the cover pixels are adaptively adjusted according to their local context, allowing a relatively sharp prediction error histogram to be constructed. Experimental results validate that the proposed method is significantly superior to some advanced works regarding payload-distortion performance, demonstrating the practicality of our method.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/10/15/2804reversible watermarkingreversible data hidinggraph optimizationprediction error
spellingShingle Limengnan Zhou
Chongfu Zhang
Asad Malik
Hanzhou Wu
Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
Mathematics
reversible watermarking
reversible data hiding
graph optimization
prediction error
title Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
title_full Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
title_fullStr Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
title_full_unstemmed Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
title_short Efficient Reversible Data Hiding Based on Connected Component Construction and Prediction Error Adjustment
title_sort efficient reversible data hiding based on connected component construction and prediction error adjustment
topic reversible watermarking
reversible data hiding
graph optimization
prediction error
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7390/10/15/2804
work_keys_str_mv AT limengnanzhou efficientreversibledatahidingbasedonconnectedcomponentconstructionandpredictionerroradjustment
AT chongfuzhang efficientreversibledatahidingbasedonconnectedcomponentconstructionandpredictionerroradjustment
AT asadmalik efficientreversibledatahidingbasedonconnectedcomponentconstructionandpredictionerroradjustment
AT hanzhouwu efficientreversibledatahidingbasedonconnectedcomponentconstructionandpredictionerroradjustment