A high capacity reversible data hiding scheme with edge prediction and difference expansion

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2009.06.056 Byline: Hsien-Chu Wu (a), Chih-Chiang Lee (b), Chwei-Shyong Tsai (c), Yen-Ping Chu (d), Hung-Ruei Chen (c) Keywords: Difference expansion; Digital watermarking; Edge prediction; Reversible data hiding; Steganography Abstract: To enhance the embedding capacity of a reversible data hiding system, in this paper, a novel multiple-base lossless scheme based on JPEG-LS pixel value prediction and reversible difference expansion will be presented. The proposed scheme employs a pixel value prediction mechanism to decrease the distortion caused by the hiding of the secret data. In general, the prediction error value tends to be much smaller in smooth areas than in edge areas, and more secret data embedded in smooth areas still meets better stego-image quality. The multiple-base notational system, on the other hand, is applied to increase the payload of the image. With the system, the payload of each pixel, determined by the complexity of its neighboring pixels, can be very different. In addition, the cover image processed by the proposed scheme can be fully recovered without any distortion. Experimental results, as shown in this paper, have demonstrated that the proposed method is capable of hiding more secret data while keeping the stego-image quality degradation imperceptible. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Taichung Institute of Technology, 129, Section 3, San Min Road, Taichung City, Taiwan, ROC (b) Department of Computer Science and Engineering, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Road, Taichung City, Taiwan, ROC (c) Department of Management Information Systems, National Chung Hsing University, 250, Kuo Kuang Road, 402 Taichung, Taiwan, ROC (d) Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, Tunghai University, 181, Section 3, Taichung Port Road, Situn District, Taichung City, Taiwan, ROC Article History: Received 8 August 2007; Revised 24 April 2009; Accepted 23 June 2009