Combining double random phase encoding for color image watermarking in quaternion gyrator domain

Abstract Quaternion representation of color image has attracted great attention due to its capability to treat holistically the three color channels. In a more general way, it has successfully been used in multi-channel signal processing applications over the past few decades. In this study, a joint encryption/watermarking system with more security based on double random phase encoding (DRPE) in quaternion gyrator transform domain is addressed. In the proposed scheme, an RGB-scale watermark image together with a grayscale watermark image or not is encoded into a quaternion matrix and encrypted through the DRPE, the encrypted data is then fused into the middle coefficients of the quaternion gyrator-transformed host image. In the process of extracting watermarks, it is impossible to retrieve them without authorized keys. Compared with the three channels independently processing approach implemented in fractional Fourier domain, the proposed algorithm achieves lower complexity by reason of avoiding repetitive operations. Experimental results have demonstrated the feasibility of the proposed algorithm and its superior performance in terms of noise robustness.