Waterfall Model of Innovation

1. Welcome
2. 1. Preface
3. 2. Birth and Infancy
4. 3. Video Analysis Researcher
5. 4. MediaTeam and Convergence
6. 5. Ubiquitous History
7. 6. Waterfall Model of Innovation
8. 7. Living Lab and Societal Impact
9. 8. Humanism and Technology
10. Credits

The core of research comprises of innovations. The waterfall model of innovation begins with basic research. The results of this basic research are utilized and combined in applied research, the results of which, in turn, can be further utilized in new commercial products. MediaTeam operates in the first half of this innovation chain, but also takes part in implementing the results with the companies in the field. However, since the results obtained from basic research often cannot be utilized in practical applications as fast as would be necessary, MediaTeam utilizes a faster model in its basic research. This model augments the waterfall model by also concentrating on problems typically encountered in applied research. This unites long-term basic research and faster-paced applied research into a seamless entity. Our research on digital watermarking is a fine example of this.

The hard work of the personnel working on the subject has made MediaTeam one of the key developers in the field of digital watermarking. The broad spectrum of different types of projects has resulted in the accumulation of profound knowledge and the ability to quickly develop state-of-the-art implementations for both national and international business partners.

“Fundamental know-how only develops in longer science projects – projects where there is time to think things through. When we get an R&D project, the understanding is already there. We know what is possible and what is required, and this enables us to quickly reach the end result demanded by the customer,” says Professor Tapio Seppänen, MediaTeam’s Scientific Director and leader of MediaTeam projects related to digital watermarking. “The waterfall model can be seen here: it comes automatically from the range of projects we have, even though I do not like the word itself.” Seppänen concludes.

The research of digital watermarking in MediaTeam began at the end of the 1990’s, when Professor Jaakko Sauvola thought it might be an option for passing additional information in video conferences. Later on, the emphasis moved to researching digital watermarking in the context of digital rights management. Internationally, the research of digital watermarking had begun in the mid-nineties, and the first major publication had appeared in 1996. Since then, digital watermarking has been researched in MediaTeam in the Duchess, Stardust, Stego, Zirion and Digital Watermarking of Speech and Holograms projects.

Research of digital watermarking has already led to Nedeljko Cvejic’s dissertation on the digital watermarking of audio, Kaisu Mäkelä’s Master’s Thesis on digital watermarking and steganography and Anu Pramila’s Master’s Thesis on watermark synchronization in camera phones and scanning devices. Mikko Löytynoja is currently doing his dissertation on DRM applications and Anja Keskinarkaus on synchronization problems. Adding value to media has also been a field of research in MediaTeam. Anu Pramila has been testing detaching digital watermarks from prints with digital cameras, and Marko Brockman researches embedding watermarks in speech and audio. In practice, the research has led to new algorithms for watermarking images and sound, as well as new application domains.

Digital watermarking is not without its challenges, however, say Anja Keskinarkaus and Mikko Löytynoja. “What makes digital watermarking challenging is the possibility of so-called ‘attacks’ – attempts to remove the watermark, intentionally or unintentionally.” Keskinarkaus says. “Another thing that can be challenging is getting the calculatory complexity to a level where the use of the applications on mobile devices is quick enough.” Löytynoja adds.

The actual research consists of three parts: following scientific publications on the subject, developing algorithms and testing them. Testing takes the most time, because processes such as scanning prints are slow, but there simply is no other way to do them. So far, the results include detaching watermarks from both scanned and printed images – with a camera phone, no less – and from a sound recording via speakers. A digital watermark has also been successfully transferred over a phone line.

Cooperation with the industry has included commissions from Nokia and Real Networks. When asked about the overall state of the research of digital watermarks, Löytynoja says: “In the academic world, the research has concentrated mostly on basic research and developing basic algorithms, whereas applications have been developed in the industry. Nevertheless, we have aimed at developing applications, and have already developed applied technology.”

There are already some commercial applications of digital watermarking. There are companies that have been patenting the field quite heavily, and are selling licenses to those patents. For example, in the USA, large corporations use digital watermarking to monitor how long their commercials are shown on television. Digital watermarking is also utilized in movie previews: The so-called ‘screeners’ sent to critics, award voters and other movie industry professionals often have a digital watermark that can be used to track down a person who has leaked the screener to the illegal market.

“At the moment, the state of digital watermarking research in MediaTeam is good.” Löytynoja says. The emphasis of the research of digital watermarking in MediaTeam is shifting from digital rights management – even though it is still present in the background – to value-adding services and authentication, where MediaTeam is right at the forefront of research. “A lot of people in MediaTeam are working on the field, and as I see it, the quality of the research is good. More and more publications are appearing, and the field has clearly strengthened from what it was a couple of years ago. There is a lot more knowledge.” Löytynoja concludes.

The research of digital watermarking at MediaTeam continues in the Zirion and Digital Watermarking of Speech and Holograms projects.

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