**1.5 Hardware solution**

The scheme of watermarking is implemented either using software or hardware. In a software implementation, a watermark algorithm is executed on a processor. The software implementation is flexible, but the software implementation is used to embed watermark on offline process where algorithm runs on PC for audio captured through the device. However, the hardware implementation helps to insert the watermark online when the audio is being recorded itself. Then again, in a hardware implementation, a watermark calculation is entirely performed in specially crafted hardware. A hardware implementation consumes less area and less power contrasted with a software implementation [5]. The hardware implementation may have the advantage of parallel processing and poses lesser delay compared to software. This chapter is targeting a real time application, so hardware solution is best recommended. Initially, the proposed audio watermarking algorithm is implemented on the MATLAB; however MATLAB provides only the simulation platform to validate the performance [13]. The real-time implementation of the proposed audio watermarking is achieved in Xilinx ISE software and simulated result of the audio watermarking is discussed. Here DWT transform is implemented by using adder/subtractor and shifter only. Then steps of both embedded and extraction process of the digital audio watermarking is implemented. Subsequently, the proposed watermarking is also synthesized using Xilinx ISE14.7.
