CERTIMARK: Certification for watermarking techniques

• Forschungsstelle: EU FRP
• Projektnummer: 99.0151-2
• Projekttitel Englisch: CERTIMARK: Certification for watermarking techniques

Schlüsselwörter (Englisch)

Information Processing; Information Systems; Innovation; Technology Transfer; Safety

Alternative Projektnummern (Englisch)

EU project number: IST-1999-10987

Forschungsprogramme (Englisch)

EU-programme: 5. Frame Research Programme - 1.2.2 New methods of work and electronic commerce

Kurzbeschreibung (Englisch)

See abstract

Weitere Hinweise und Angaben (Englisch)

Full name of research-institution/enterprise:
DCT - Digital Copyright Technologies AG

Abstract (Englisch)

This project consists in the development of a benchmarking platform for certification of watermarking algorithms at an European level. It will also address the creation of a technical task force on watermarking technologies in order to end up with panel of robust techniques for a number of applications.

Objectives:

The objectives of CERTIMARK are:

1- to design, develop and publish a complete benchmark suite for watermarking technologies within promising application scenarios,
2- to make this benchmark suite a reference tool both for technology suppliers and for technology customer within promising applications scenarios,
3- to set up a certification process for watermarking algorithms,
4- to definitely bring the European technological offer in a dominant position for protecting pictures in the context of E-commerce over the Internet.

Consequently, the project is going to concentrate research on pending key issues in watermarking for protection of still pictures and low bit rate video over the Internet.

Work description:
The project is articulated on six workpackages.
WP 1 is dedicated to the management of the project
WP 2 will define a set of quantitative measurements and validation mechanisms that will be finally applied by the benchmarking system to rate different watermarking algorithms for specific set of applications, which will be preliminarily defined.
WP 3 aims at designing and developing an international benchmarking platform for evaluation, and certification of the watermarking algorithms. Interfaces will be specified so that any algorithm can be plug-in easily into the platform for evaluation. The evaluation process will be as automatic as possible apart form the subjective evaluation procedure. This procedure will specify all conditions for estimating quality of watermarked images.
WP 4 will be divided onto three main tasks: research on attacks and manipulations, execution of the benchmark and pre-certification of the algorithms.
WP 5 will be devoted to the creation of a European technical Task Force on watermarking techniques in order to have consensual basic research in difficult issues of watermarking technologies such as robustness to attacks, security and channel capacity. This WP will end up with a panel of robust techniques for a number of applications.
In WP 6 the procedure for watermarking algorithm will also be addressed in this WP. Finally, profiles for future watermarking certification authorities will be specified certification will be defined, with delivery of a reference software suite and a series of test images. The dissemination of the project goals and progress to different types of instances, organisation and standardisation bodies will also be addressed in this WP. Finally, profiles for future watermarking certification authorities will be specified.

Milestones:
Metrics and validation procedures for watermarking according to applications.
First version of benchmarking suite.
Second version released in public domain.
Study of news attacks.
Assessment of existing watermarking algorithms.
Evaluation of the watermarking algorithms developed during the project.
Research results on key difficult issues for watermarking.
High end European watermarking algorithms.

Datenbankreferenzen (Englisch)

Swiss Database: Euro-DB of the
State Secretariat for Education and Research
Hallwylstrasse 4
CH-3003 Berne, Switzerland
Tel. [phone]
Swiss Project-Number: 99.0151-2