KR100877748B1 - Apparatus and method for generating, monitoring certification and managing image using watermark - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating, monitoring, and managing an image using a watermark. The image management apparatus using the watermark includes: a watermarking requesting unit for requesting watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; A watermark inserting unit for inserting a watermark in the image being photographed if the watermark embedding request is requested; A watermark image storage unit for storing an image having a watermark embedded therein; A monitoring authentication unit which checks whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a monitoring request of the watermarked image; And a watermark decoder for decoding the watermarked image when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit.

According to the present invention, even if the same stored image data, by providing a function to apply and decode the watermark according to the monitor level to protect the privacy of the individual, can be utilized as various monitor functions without damaging the original image data stored have.

Description

Apparatus and method for generating, monitoring certification and managing image using watermark}

1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an image management apparatus using a watermark according to the present invention.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating an image using a watermark according to the present invention.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a video monitoring authentication method using a watermark according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: watermarking request unit 110: watermark insertion unit

120: image storage unit 130: monitoring authentication unit

140: watermark decoder 150: video playback unit

160: video recording unit

The present invention relates to an image management method and apparatus, and more particularly, to an image generation, monitoring authentication and management method and apparatus using a watermark.

In general, a digital video recorder (DVR) system stores a captured image using a hard disk (HDD) or a digital video disk (DVD), and plays back the stored image. In addition, it is stored as a digital signal, which is convenient for editing and transferring images. The analog signal, which is the image data input to the surveillance camera, is converted into a digital signal, and the image is compressed and restored by a moving picture expert group (MPEG). You can also record and play back for a long time. Motion detection, connection recording, image enlargement and editing are possible, and data can be stored semi-permanently in HDD, DAT, etc. You can search by time, date, camera, and event. You can monitor in real time from a distance, search, backup, and camera control.

However, after the DVR system captures and saves the video, when a monitor or the like later monitors or retrieves the recorded video, it is necessary to grant authority to play the video so that only a person with a certain authority can play the video. have. For example, it is required to be able to monitor only those who have a certain authority for images that need to protect personal privacy or security.

The present invention was devised to meet the needs as described above, and an object of the present invention is to insert a watermark into an image captured by a photographing device such as a surveillance camera, and then only an authorized person can play the stored image. The present invention provides an apparatus and method for generating an image using a watermark.

Another object of the present invention is to generate a watermark by inserting a watermark to the image taken by the camera, such as surveillance cameras according to the authority level, so that the stored image to be reproduced by masking according to the authority level, and an image generating apparatus using a watermark To provide a way.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an image generating method and apparatus for monitoring video using a watermark for authenticating a right to monitor a workmark image generated by the apparatus.

In order to achieve the above object, an image generating apparatus using a watermark according to the present invention comprises: a watermarking requesting unit for requesting watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; And a watermark insertion unit for inserting a watermark in the image being photographed when the watermark insertion request is made.

The event of the watermarking requester may be at least one of motion detection, object tracking, and object count. The watermarking request unit may include a motion tracking event generator for generating at least one of a motion detection, an object tracking, and an object count as an event; And a motion tracking processor for generating a signal for requesting watermarking when an event occurs in the motion tracking event generator. The watermarking request signal of the motion tracking processor preferably uses at least one of an alarm, a mail, and a short message.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of generating an image using a watermark, the method comprising: requesting a watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; And inserting a watermark in the image being photographed when the watermark insertion request is made.

In order to achieve the above object, an image monitoring authentication apparatus using a watermark according to the present invention includes: a monitoring authentication unit checking whether there is a right to monitor a workmarked image when there is a monitoring request for a watermarked image; And a watermark decoder for decoding the watermarked image when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit.

The monitoring authentication unit includes a monitoring level storage unit for storing information on the authority to monitor the watermarked image; And a monitoring authority checker for searching the monitoring level storage and checking the monitoring authority when there is a monitoring request of the watermarked image. When the monitoring authority checker logs in, it is preferable to check the monitoring authority by using login ID information.

In order to achieve the above object, an image monitoring authentication method using a watermark according to the present invention may include: checking whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a monitoring request for the watermarked image; And if it is determined that the monitoring authority is present, decoding the watermarked image.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for managing an image using a watermark, the apparatus including: a watermarking requesting unit for requesting watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; A watermark inserting unit for inserting a watermark in the image being photographed when the watermark embedding request is requested; A watermark image storage unit for storing an image having a watermark embedded therein; A monitoring authentication unit which checks whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a monitoring request of a watermarked image; And a watermark decoder for decoding the watermarked image when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of managing an image using a watermark, the method comprising: requesting watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; Inserting a watermark in the image being photographed if there is a watermark embedding request; Checking whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a request to play a watermarked image; And if it is authenticated that the monitoring authority is present, decoding the watermarked image.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. For reference, detailed descriptions of well-known functions and configurations that may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention will be omitted in the following description.

First, watermarking will be briefly described. Watermarking inserts a mark that only the original owner knows into data such as text, images, video, audio, etc., and cannot be distinguished by the human eye or ear and provides it on the network. If users illegally copy multimedia digital information and use it for commercial or other purposes without justifiable payment or permission, they can identify their property by extracting their mark. The watermarking technology currently being developed is a digital watermarking technology, which is emerging as an important technology because the Internet is rapidly spreading and works such as books, pictures, and music can be copied and distributed in large quantities on the Internet.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of an image management apparatus using a watermark according to the present invention, and includes an image generating apparatus 10 and an image monitoring authentication apparatus 20 using a watermark according to the present invention.

The image generating apparatus 10 using the watermark according to the present invention includes a watermarking requesting unit 100 and a watermark inserting unit 110.

The watermarking requester 100 requests watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking is generated, and includes a motion tracking event generator 102, a motion tracking unit 104, and a motion tracking processor 106. . The event of the watermarking requester 100 may be motion detection, object tracking, object count, or the like.

The motion tracking event generator 102 may generate motion detection, object tracking, object count, and the like as an event. In general, an event is generated through simple motion detection, object tracking, and object count through a video behavior recognition solution. In a simple example, an event occurs when a part of a camera background pixel illuminating an image is changed, that is, an object passes by.

The motion tracking unit 104 tracks a moving object when an event occurs in the motion tracking event generating unit 102 and transmits tracking information of the moving object for a specific area to the motion tracking processing unit 106. .

The moving object tracking detects an area having a pattern similar to a preset pattern in the image data and tracks the moving object area by extracting an area matching the feature of the moving object from the detected area.

For example, in the case of a camera installed in an ATM, an event occurs when a user's movement of the ATM is detected, and accordingly, an area having a similar pattern is compared by comparing a preset pattern of a person with a movement pattern in the image data. The first detection is performed, and the face area that is a feature area is secondly extracted from the first detected area, and the eye area of the face area is thirdly extracted.

The motion tracking processor 106 generates a signal for requesting watermarking when an event occurs in the motion tracking event generator 102 or when tracking information is transmitted from the motion tracking unit 104. In the case of granting the monitoring right only to the fixed object without movement, since the tracking information of the moving object is not necessary, a signal for requesting watermarking in response to an event generated in the motion tracking event generator 102 is required. Generates.

In addition, the motion tracking processor 106 may generate a signal for requesting differential watermarking according to the authority level. The motion tracking processor 106 may generate a watermarking request signal for differentially granting monitoring authority in a fixed object in which no movement occurs, and differentially granting monitoring authority in a moving object in which movement occurs. A watermarking request signal can be generated.

For example, in the case of a camera installed in an ATM, the ATM input / output unit may be divided into a first level, an ATM input unit may be a second level, and the ATM may be divided into a third level to generate a watermarking request signal according to each authority level. In addition, the user's face using the ATM may be classified into a first level, a user's eyes into a second level, and a user's overall appearance into a third level to generate a watermarking request signal according to each authority level. Since the ATM is a fixed object, each level may be distinguished by presetting coordinates of an area to which the monitoring authority level is to be granted. In addition, since the ATM user corresponds to a moving object, the monitoring authority level may be distinguished using the tracking information of the moving object transferred from the motion tracking unit 104.

The watermarking request signal generated by the motion tracking processor 106 may be variously set according to the installation position of the camera, the use purpose, and the permission level.

The watermark inserting unit 110 inserts a watermark into the image data being photographed when the watermark embedding request is requested. In other words, when a signal to apply a watermark is applied, the watermark is actually applied to a specific object. At this time, an identifier (ID) and an identification line appropriate for the object are determined.

In addition, the watermark inserting unit 110 may insert a watermark for each level in the image data in response to the watermarking request signal for each level of the tracking processor 106. For example, corresponding regions according to each level may be extracted from the image data, and watermarks corresponding to the levels may be inserted into each of the corresponding regions. The watermark may be a method of using different watermarks, and a method of adding a first watermark, a second watermark, a third watermark, etc. may be applied according to a level.

The image monitoring authentication apparatus 20 using the watermark according to the present invention includes a monitoring authentication unit 130 and a watermark decoder 140. The monitoring authentication unit 130 checks whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a monitoring request for the watermarked image, and includes a monitoring level storage unit 132 and an authority checking unit 134. .

The monitoring level storage unit 132 stores information on the authority to monitor the watermarked image.

The monitoring authority checking unit 134 checks the monitoring authority by searching the monitoring level storage unit 132 when there is a monitoring request of the watermarked image. The monitoring authority checking unit 134 may check the monitoring authority by using the login identifier (ID) information when logging in. For example, when you log in, you are given the authority of the corresponding ID, which also gives you the authority to monitor. Therefore, it is also determined whether or not the watermark can be decrypted.

The watermark decoder 140 decodes the watermark of the watermarked image when authentication is passed by the monitoring authenticator 130. That is, the watermark of the specific object applied when the authorized user performs the monitoring is decoded and shown. When the watermark is decoded, the image reproducing unit 150 reproduces the image.

The watermark decoder 140 selectively decodes the watermark according to the authority level when the watermarking is inserted differently according to the authority level, and the image reproducing unit 150 selectively reproduces only the decoded image part. do.

For example, as described above, the cash dispenser input / output unit as a fixed object is divided into a first level, the cash dispenser input unit is at a second level, and the entire cash dispenser is divided into a third level. If the eyes are watermarked by dividing the eyes into the second level and the user's overall appearance into the third level, if an unauthorized person tries to play the video, the watermark is not decoded and the video is not played. When playing the video, only the cash register input / output unit and the area except the user's face are selectively played. When the person with the second level authority wants to play the video, only the cash dispenser input and the area except the user's eyes are selected. When the person having the third level authority wants to play the video, the entire video may be played. If there is a monitoring right but the playback area is restricted by the permission level, the playback area may be set to be selectively monitored by masking the restricted area.

2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of generating an image using a watermark according to the present invention. If an event that requires watermarking is detected (step 200), a motion tracking event is generated (step 210), motion tracking for tracking a moving object is performed (step 220), and a watermark insertion is requested (step 230). In this case, the event may be a motion detection, object tracking, object counting, and the like, when a suspicious behavior is detected, when a slipping or falling behavior occurs, a dangerous object is detected, and the like.

If there is a watermark embedding request, the watermark is inserted into the image data being photographed (step 240), and the watermark-embedded image is stored (step 250). In addition, step 220 may be omitted when watermarking is only performed on the fixed object, and step 230 may require insertion of different watermarks according to levels, and step 240 may be a level at step 230. When the watermark is required to be inserted, different watermarks may be inserted for each level in the image data.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a video monitoring authentication method using a watermark according to the present invention. When the user logs in (step 300), if there is a monitoring request for the watermarked image (step 310), it is checked whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image (step 320). If it is determined that the authority to monitor the monitoring result, that is, the level to be monitored (step 330), the watermarked image data is decoded according to the level (step 340), and then the image is selectively reproduced according to the level (step 350). . If the watermarked video monitoring is not required in step 310, normal video reproduction is performed. If it is not the level that can be monitored in step 330 and not the right to monitor (360) and ends.

The present invention applies a watermark technique when storing a tracking image of a person who has passed through the doorway authentication system, and then displays the image through watermark decryption according to the authority level of the monitor agent when playing back. It is a saved video file, but Play Back is possible according to monitoring authority.

In addition, the present invention generates an event in the motion sensor, and after capturing an image according to the event, and stores the image data by applying a watermark to a specific object. When the stored video data is to be played back, the watermark is decoded according to the monitor level to provide the video data, and the user plays back.

On the other hand, the present invention described above can also be embodied as computer readable codes on a computer readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium includes all kinds of recording devices in which data that can be read by a computer system is stored. Examples of computer-readable recording media include ROM, RAM, CD-ROM, magnetic tape, floppy disks, hard disks, optical data storage devices, and also in the form of carrier waves (e.g., transmission over the Internet). It includes what is implemented. The computer readable recording medium can also be distributed over network coupled computer systems so that the computer readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. And functional programs, codes and code segments for implementing the present invention can be easily inferred by programmers in the art to which the present invention belongs.

Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features, The examples are to be understood in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive.

In addition, the scope of the present invention is specified by the appended claims rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts are included in the scope of the present invention. Should be interpreted as

According to the present invention, the DVR system does not provide video data to all monitor personnel by unconditionally capturing the image, but provides the function of applying and decoding the watermark according to the monitor level even for the same stored video data. It can be used for various monitor functions without any damage to the original image data saved.

Claims (14)

delete A monitoring authenticator checking whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image data when there is a monitoring request for the watermarked image; A watermark decoder for selectively decoding watermarked image data when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit; And An image reproducing unit reproduces all or a part of the image decoded by the watermark decoder. The monitoring authentication unit may include: a monitoring level storage unit storing information on a right to monitor a watermarked image and a monitoring level checker by checking the monitoring level storage unit when a monitoring request of a watermarked image is requested Image monitoring authentication apparatus using a watermark, characterized in that it comprises a authority check unit. The method of claim 2, wherein the monitoring authority check unit The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the monitoring authority level is checked by using login ID information. A monitoring authenticator checking whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image data when there is a monitoring request for the watermarked image; A watermark decoder for selectively decoding watermarked image data when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit; And An image reproducing unit reproduces all or a part of the image decoded by the watermark decoder. And the watermark decoder selectively decodes all or a part of the image data according to a monitoring authority level of the watermarked image data. An image photographing unit configured to photograph at least one object of the fixed object and the moving object and to transmit captured image data; A watermarking requesting unit for requesting watermark insertion when an event is generated from the image data; And And a watermark inserting unit for inserting a watermark in the input image data when the watermark embedding request is requested. The method of claim 5, wherein the event of the watermarking request unit And at least one of motion detection, object tracking, and object count. The method of claim 6, wherein the watermarking request unit A motion tracking event generator for generating at least one of a motion detection, an object tracking, and an object count as an event; And And a motion tracking processor configured to generate a watermarking request signal when an event occurs in the motion tracking event generator. The method of claim 7, wherein the watermarking request unit Further comprising a motion tracking unit for tracking a moving object in the image data, And the motion tracking processor generates a watermarking request signal using object tracking information transmitted from the motion tracking unit when an event for a moving object occurs. The method of claim 8, wherein the motion tracking unit, And a moving object is tracked using an object tracking method for extracting a similar pattern by comparing the pattern of the moving object with a preset pattern. The method of claim 8, wherein the motion tracking processing unit, And generating the watermarking request signal according to the authority level. The method of claim 5, wherein the watermark insertion unit, The watermarking image generating apparatus, characterized in that for inserting a different watermark according to the authority level in the image data when the watermarking request from the watermarking requester according to the authority level. A watermarking requesting unit for requesting watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; A watermark inserting unit for inserting a watermark in the image being photographed when the watermark embedding request is requested; A watermark image storage unit for storing an image having a watermark embedded therein; A monitoring authentication unit which checks whether there is a right to monitor the workmarked image when there is a monitoring request of a watermarked image; And And a watermark decoder for decoding a watermarked image when authentication is passed in the monitoring authentication unit. (a) requesting a watermark insertion when an event requiring watermarking occurs; (b) embedding a watermark in the image being photographed if there is a watermark embedding request; (c) checking an authority level for monitoring the workmarked image when there is a request to play the watermarked image; And and (d) decoding the watermarked image if it is authenticated that the monitoring authority is present. The method of claim 13, wherein step (b) Insert different watermarks according to the permission level, Step (d) And a watermark is selectively decoded according to the authority level.

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