A novel PVO-based RDH scheme utilizes an interleaved data embedding technique using dual-pixels

Abstract

Today, Reversible Data Hiding (RDH) based on Pixel Value Ordering (PVO) approaches have gained significant attention from scientists. The number of PVO-based RDH schemes developed to protect valuable data in the military and medical sectors has constantly increased. In this paper, we propose a dual-pixels (where two consecutive pixels have a mutually influential relationship) reversible data hiding method and utilize it to develop a new PVO-based RDH scheme. In this proposed approach, the dual-pixels unit is employed as an embedding unit, and a maximum of two message bits are hidden into a dual-pixels pair. Additionally, the embedding capacity is enhanced by utilizing an interleaved data hiding technique. Experimental results indicate that the proposed scheme is superior to related state-of-the-art approaches in terms of embedding capacity and visual quality.