Invisible Watermarks - Steganography
What are invisible watermarks?
If you came this far in reading the documentation, you've probably already tried scanning one of our watermarks. Invisible watermarks are a form of steganography using fourier transform, but put on steroids through deep learning enhanced algorithms for detection, error correction and normalization.
Xeal uses invisible watermarking technology to link digital and physical assets to the blockchain, ensuring authenticity and enabling verification. Although detectable by machines, the watermarks use a chrominance channels that are barely visible through human eyes.
Key Features
Imperceptibility: Watermarks are embedded in a way that is undetectable to the human eye.
Robustness: Watermarks can withstand common image processing operations like compression, resizing, and color adjustment.
Verifiability: Watermarks can be detected and verified using the Xeal mobile app.
Embedding Process
Color Space Conversion: Image is converted from RGB to YUV or YCbCr color space.
Watermark Generation: A pseudo-random sequence of bits is generated to represent the watermark.
Embedding: The watermark is primarily embedded in the chrominance channels (U and V) to minimize visual impact.
Detection Process
Image Preprocessing: Captured images are corrected for distortions and normalized.
Synchronization Signal Detection: A known pattern is identified to align the image for watermark extraction.
Watermark Extraction: The embedded watermark is retrieved using inverse operations of the embedding process.
Applications
Linking digital assets to blockchain records
Authenticating physical products
Enabling augmented reality experiences
Protecting intellectual property
Security
Watermark hashes, rather than actual watermarks, are batched together as proofs and stored on the blockchain to enhance security and prevent unauthorized replication.
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