An optimized digital watermarking algorithm in wavelet domain based on differential evolution for color image

In this paper, a new color watermarking algorithm based on differential evolution is proposed. A color host image is first converted from RGB space to YIQ space, which is more suitable for the human visual system. Then, apply three-level discrete wavelet transformation to luminance component Y and generate four different frequency sub-bands. After that, perform singular value decomposition on these sub-bands. In the watermark embedding process, apply discrete wavelet transformation to a watermark image after the scrambling encryption processing. Our new algorithm uses differential evolution algorithm with adaptive optimization to choose the right scaling factors. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has a better performance in terms of invisibility and robustness.