Error Concealment in Image Communication Using Edge Map Watermarking and Spatial Smoothing

TL;DR

This paper introduces a new error concealment method for lossy image transmission that embeds edge maps as watermarks and uses spatial smoothing with edge constraints to recover lost image blocks, outperforming existing techniques.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel error concealment algorithm combining robust edge map watermarking with spatial smoothing for improved image recovery.

Findings

Outperforms existing error concealment methods under high packet loss.

Effective use of embedded edge information improves image quality.

Robust watermarking ensures reliable edge extraction at the receiver.

Abstract

We propose a novel error concealment algorithm to be used at the receiver side of a lossy image transmission system. Our algorithm involves hiding the edge map of the original image at the transmitter within itself using a robust watermarking scheme. At the receiver, wherever a lost block is detected, the extracted edge information is used as border constraint for the spatial smoothing employing the intact neighboring blocks in order to conceal errors. Simulation results show the superiority of our technique over existing methods even in case of high packet loss ratios in the communication network.