The software technology, which we have called AuthentImage , embeds imperceptible tags (watermarks) into an image without causing any loss of the image information. The tags embedded within the image provide a verification mechanism to assure that the image has not been altered. The information in the embedded tags can be extracted and is used to identify the image, establish its source, and verify its integrity (assure that it has not been tampered with).
Applications
The ability to assure that authenticity of an image is useful in medical imaging, forensic photography, assured document archival, and military imaging applications. This technology can be used to embed potentially sensitive information translated to text for transmission wirelessly or through standard e-mail, preventing data tampering and ensuring that the data received has not been compromised.
Advantages
The tags at each pixel may be customized to convey application specific information about the image or document. If desired, these tags can be removed at any time and the image can be restored to its original form exactly (bit for bit identical). The software overlays an invisible watermark by modifying only the lowest levels of image pixels. This enables embedding of high capacity payloads while maintaining the imperceptibility of the watermark. Lossless recovery of the original is achieved by including within the payload, compressed representations of the signal portions that are susceptible to embedding distortion. Cryptographically-secure source and integrity and the ability to get back the un-watermarked content make the software valuable especially in medical imaging, forensic photography, assured document archival, and military imaging applications.