annotate docs/WAC2016/WAC2016.tex @ 789:3539d6c992e4

Feature #1478: <audioElements> have a gain attribute, in decibels, which controls the playback gain in that page.
author Nicholas Jillings <n.g.r.jillings@se14.qmul.ac.uk>
date Fri, 11 Dec 2015 17:33:14 +0000
parents 519baf8648a9
children 888292c88c33
rev   line source
nicholas@763 1 \documentclass{sig-alternate}
nicholas@763 2 \usepackage{hyperref} % make links (like references, links to Sections, ...) clickable
nicholas@763 3 \usepackage{enumitem} % tighten itemize etc by appending '[noitemsep,nolistsep]'
nicholas@763 4 \usepackage{cleveref}
nicholas@763 5
nicholas@763 6 \graphicspath{{img/}} % put the images in this folder
nicholas@763 7
nicholas@763 8 \begin{document}
nicholas@763 9
nicholas@763 10 % Copyright
nicholas@763 11 \setcopyright{waclicense}
nicholas@763 12
nicholas@763 13 \newcommand*\rot{\rotatebox{90}}
nicholas@763 14
nicholas@763 15
nicholas@763 16 %% DOI
nicholas@763 17 %\doi{10.475/123_4}
nicholas@763 18 %
nicholas@763 19 %% ISBN
nicholas@763 20 %\isbn{123-4567-24-567/08/06}
nicholas@763 21 %
nicholas@763 22 %%Conference
nicholas@763 23 %\conferenceinfo{PLDI '13}{June 16--19, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA}
nicholas@763 24 %
nicholas@763 25 %\acmPrice{\$15.00}
nicholas@763 26
nicholas@763 27 %
nicholas@763 28 % --- Author Metadata here ---
nicholas@763 29 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA}
nicholas@763 30 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
nicholas@763 31 %\crdata{0-12345-67-8/90/01} % Allows default copyright data (0-89791-88-6/97/05) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
nicholas@763 32 % --- End of Author Metadata ---
nicholas@763 33
nicholas@763 34 \title{Web Audio Evaluation Tool: A framework for subjective assessment of audio}
nicholas@763 35 %\subtitle{[Extended Abstract]
nicholas@763 36 %\titlenote{A full version of this paper is available as
nicholas@763 37 %\textit{Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using
nicholas@763 38 %\LaTeX$2_\epsilon$\ and BibTeX} at
nicholas@763 39 %\texttt{www.acm.org/eaddress.htm}}}
nicholas@763 40 %
nicholas@763 41 % You need the command \numberofauthors to handle the 'placement
nicholas@763 42 % and alignment' of the authors beneath the title.
nicholas@763 43 %
nicholas@763 44 % For aesthetic reasons, we recommend 'three authors at a time'
nicholas@763 45 % i.e. three 'name/affiliation blocks' be placed beneath the title.
nicholas@763 46 %
nicholas@763 47 % NOTE: You are NOT restricted in how many 'rows' of
nicholas@763 48 % "name/affiliations" may appear. We just ask that you restrict
nicholas@763 49 % the number of 'columns' to three.
nicholas@763 50 %
nicholas@763 51 % Because of the available 'opening page real-estate'
nicholas@763 52 % we ask you to refrain from putting more than six authors
nicholas@763 53 % (two rows with three columns) beneath the article title.
nicholas@763 54 % More than six makes the first-page appear very cluttered indeed.
nicholas@763 55 %
nicholas@763 56 % Use the \alignauthor commands to handle the names
nicholas@763 57 % and affiliations for an 'aesthetic maximum' of six authors.
nicholas@763 58 % Add names, affiliations, addresses for
nicholas@763 59 % the seventh etc. author(s) as the argument for the
nicholas@763 60 % \additionalauthors command.
nicholas@763 61 % These 'additional authors' will be output/set for you
nicholas@763 62 % without further effort on your part as the last section in
nicholas@763 63 % the body of your article BEFORE References or any Appendices.
nicholas@763 64
nicholas@763 65 % FIVE authors instead of four, to leave space between first two authors.
nicholas@763 66 \numberofauthors{5} % in this sample file, there are a *total*
nicholas@763 67 % of EIGHT authors. SIX appear on the 'first-page' (for formatting
nicholas@763 68 % reasons) and the remaining two appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nicholas@763 69 %
nicholas@763 70 \author{
nicholas@763 71 % You can go ahead and credit any number of authors here,
nicholas@763 72 % e.g. one 'row of three' or two rows (consisting of one row of three
nicholas@763 73 % and a second row of one, two or three).
nicholas@763 74 %
nicholas@763 75 % The command \alignauthor (no curly braces needed) should
nicholas@763 76 % precede each author name, affiliation/snail-mail address and
nicholas@763 77 % e-mail address. Additionally, tag each line of
nicholas@763 78 % affiliation/address with \affaddr, and tag the
nicholas@763 79 % e-mail address with \email.
nicholas@763 80 %
nicholas@763 81 % 1st. author
nicholas@763 82 \alignauthor Nicholas Jillings\\
nicholas@763 83 \email{n.g.r.jillings@se14.qmul.ac.uk}
nicholas@763 84 % dummy author for nicer spacing
nicholas@763 85 \alignauthor
nicholas@763 86 % 2nd. author
nicholas@763 87 \alignauthor Brecht De Man\\
nicholas@763 88 \email{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
nicholas@763 89 \and % use '\and' if you need 'another row' of author names
nicholas@763 90 % 3rd. author
nicholas@763 91 \alignauthor David Moffat\\
nicholas@763 92 \email{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
nicholas@763 93 % 4th. author
nicholas@763 94 \alignauthor Joshua D. Reiss\\
nicholas@763 95 \email{joshua.reiss@qmul.ac.uk}
nicholas@763 96 \and % new line for address
nicholas@763 97 \affaddr{Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science}\\
nicholas@763 98 \affaddr{Queen Mary University of London}\\
nicholas@763 99 \affaddr{Mile End Road,}
nicholas@763 100 \affaddr{London E1 4NS}\\
nicholas@763 101 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
nicholas@763 102 }
nicholas@763 103 %Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
nicholas@763 104 %% 5th. author
nicholas@763 105 %\alignauthor Sean Fogarty\\
nicholas@763 106 % \affaddr{NASA Ames Research Center}\\
nicholas@763 107 % \affaddr{Moffett Field}\\
nicholas@763 108 % \email{fogartys@amesres.org}
nicholas@763 109 %% 6th. author
nicholas@763 110 %\alignauthor Charles Palmer\\
nicholas@763 111 % \affaddr{Palmer Research Laboratories}\\
nicholas@763 112 % \affaddr{8600 Datapoint Drive}\\
nicholas@763 113 % \email{cpalmer@prl.com}
nicholas@763 114 %}
nicholas@763 115 % There's nothing stopping you putting the seventh, eighth, etc.
nicholas@763 116 % author on the opening page (as the 'third row') but we ask,
nicholas@763 117 % for aesthetic reasons that you place these 'additional authors'
nicholas@763 118 % in the \additional authors block, viz.
nicholas@763 119 %\additionalauthors{Additional authors: John Smith (The Th{\o}rv{\"a}ld Group,
nicholas@763 120 %email: {\texttt{jsmith@affiliation.org}}) and Julius P.~Kumquat
nicholas@763 121 %(The Kumquat Consortium, email: {\texttt{jpkumquat@consortium.net}}).}
nicholas@763 122 \date{1 October 2015}
nicholas@763 123 % Just remember to make sure that the TOTAL number of authors
nicholas@763 124 % is the number that will appear on the first page PLUS the
nicholas@763 125 % number that will appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nicholas@763 126
nicholas@763 127 \maketitle
nicholas@763 128 \begin{abstract}
nicholas@763 129
nicholas@763 130 Perceptual listening tests are commonplace in audio research and a vital form of evaluation. Many tools exist to run such tests, however many operate one test type and are therefore limited whilst most require proprietary software. Using Web Audio the Web Audio Evaluation Tool (WAET) addresses these concerns by having one toolbox which can be configured to run many different tests, perform it through a web browser and without needing proprietary software or computer programming knowledge. In this paper the role of the Web Audio API in giving WAET key functionalities are shown. The paper also highlights less common features, available to web based tools, such as easy remote testing environment and in-browser analytics.
nicholas@763 131
nicholas@763 132 \end{abstract}
nicholas@763 133
nicholas@763 134
nicholas@763 135 \section{Introduction}
nicholas@763 136
nicholas@763 137 % Listening tests/perceptual audio evaluation: what are they, why are they important
nicholas@763 138 % As opposed to limited scope of WAC15 paper: also musical features, realism of sound effects / sound synthesis, performance of source separation and other algorithms...
nicholas@763 139 Perceptual evaluation of audio, in the form of listening tests, is a powerful way to assess anything from audio codec quality to realism of sound synthesis to the performance of source separation, automated music production and other auditory evaluations.
nicholas@763 140 In less technical areas, the framework of a listening test can be used to measure emotional response to music or test cognitive abilities.
nicholas@763 141 % maybe some references? If there's space.
nicholas@763 142
nicholas@763 143 % check out http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-015-0270-8 - only paper that cited WAC15 paper
nicholas@763 144
nicholas@763 145 % Why difficult? Challenges? What constitutes a good interface?
nicholas@763 146 % Technical, interfaces, user friendliness, reliability
nicholas@763 147 Several applications for performing perceptual listening tests currently exist. A review of existing listening test frameworks was undertaken and presented in~\Cref{tab:toolboxes}. Note that many rely on proprietary, 3rd party software such as MATLAB and MAX, making them less attractive for many. With the exception of the existing JavaScript-based toolboxes, remote deployment (web-based test hosting and result collection) is not possible.
nicholas@763 148
nicholas@763 149 HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} is a single example of a toolbox that presents the user with a large number of different test interfaces and allows for customisation of each test interface, without requiring knowledge of any programming language. The Web Audio Evaluation Toolbox (WAET), presented here, stands out as it does not require proprietary software or a specific platform. It also provides a wide range of interface and test types in one user friendly environment. Furthermore any test based on the default test types can be configured in the browser as well. Note that the design of an effective listening test further poses many challenges unrelated to interface design, which are beyond the scope of this paper \cite{bech}.
nicholas@763 150
nicholas@763 151 % Why in the browser?
nicholas@763 152 The Web Audio API provides important features including sample level manipulation of audio streams \cite{schoeffler2015mushra} and synchronous and flexible playback. Being in the browser allows leveraging the flexible object oriented JavaScript language and native support for web documents, such as the extensible markup language (XML) which is used for configuration and test result files. Using the web also reduces deployment requirements to a basic web server with extra functionality, such as test collection and automatic processing, using PHP. As recruiting participants can be very time-consuming, and as for some tests a large number of participants is needed, browser-based tests can enable participants in multiple locations to perform the test \cite{schoeffler2015mushra}.
nicholas@763 153
nicholas@763 154 Both BeaqleJS \cite{beaqlejs} and mushraJS\footnote{https://github.com/akaroice/mushraJS} also operate in the browser. However, BeaqleJS does not make use of the Web Audio API and therefore lacks arbitrary manipulation of audio stream samples, and neither offer an adequately wide choice of test designs for them to be useful to many researchers. %requires programming knowledge?...
nicholas@763 155
nicholas@763 156 % only browser-based?
nicholas@763 157 \begin{table*}[ht]
nicholas@763 158 \caption{Table with existing listening test platforms and their features}
nicholas@763 159 \small
nicholas@763 160 \begin{center}
nicholas@763 161 \begin{tabular}{|*{9}{l|}}
nicholas@763 162 \hline
nicholas@763 163 \textbf{Toolbox} & \rot{\textbf{APE}} & \rot{\textbf{BeaqleJS}} &\rot{\textbf{HULTI-GEN}} & \rot{\textbf{mushraJS}} & \rot{\textbf{MUSHRAM}} & \rot{\textbf{Scale}} & \rot{\textbf{WhisPER}} & \rot{\textbf{WAET}} \\ \hline
nicholas@763 164 \textbf{Reference} & \cite{ape} & \cite{beaqlejs} & \cite{hultigen} & & \cite{mushram} & \cite{scale} & \cite{whisper} & \cite{waet} \\ \hline
nicholas@763 165 \textbf{Language} & MATLAB & JS & MAX & JS & MATLAB & MATLAB & MATLAB & JS \\ \hline
nicholas@763 166 \textbf{Remote} & & (\checkmark) & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline \hline
nicholas@763 167 MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534) & & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 168 APE & \checkmark & & & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 169 Rank Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 170 Likert Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 171 ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116) & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 172 -50 to 50 Bipolar with ref. & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 173 Absolute Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 174 Degradation Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 175 Comparison Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 176 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 177 ITU-R 5 Continuous Impairment Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 178 Pairwise / AB Test & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 179 Multi-attribute ratings & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 180 ABX Test & & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 181 Adaptive psychophysical methods & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nicholas@763 182 Repertory Grid Technique & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nicholas@763 183 Semantic Differential & & & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark &\checkmark \\ \hline
nicholas@763 184 n-Alternative Forced Choice & & & & & & \checkmark & & \\ \hline
nicholas@763 185 \end{tabular}
nicholas@763 186 \end{center}
nicholas@763 187 \label{tab:toolboxes}
nicholas@763 188 \end{table*}
nicholas@763 189 %
nicholas@763 190 %Selling points: remote tests, visualisaton, create your own test in the browser, many interfaces, few/no dependencies, flexibility
nicholas@763 191
nicholas@763 192 %[Talking about what we do in the various sections of this paper. Referring to \cite{waet}. ]
nicholas@763 193 To meet the need for a cross-platform, versatile and easy-to-use listening test tool, we previously developed the Web Audio Evaluation Tool \cite{waet} which at the time of its inception was capable of running a listening test in the browser from an XML configuration file, and storing an XML file as well, with one particular interface. This has now expanded into a tool with which a wide range of listening test types can easily be constructed and set up remotely, without any need for manually altering code or configuration files, and allows visualisation of the collected results in the browser. In this paper, we discuss these different aspects and explore which future improvements would be possible.
nicholas@763 194
nicholas@763 195 \begin{figure}[tb]
nicholas@763 196 \centering
nicholas@763 197 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{interface.png}
nicholas@763 198 \caption{A simple example of a multi-stimulus, single attribute, single rating scale test with a reference and comment fields.}
nicholas@763 199 \label{fig:interface}
nicholas@763 200 \end{figure}
nicholas@763 201
nicholas@763 202 \begin{comment}
nicholas@763 203 % MEETING 8 OCTOBER
nicholas@763 204 \subsection{Meeting 8 October}
nicholas@763 205 \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 206 \item Do we manipulate audio?\\
nicholas@763 207 \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 208 \item Add loudness equalisation? (test\_create.html) Tag with gains.
nicholas@763 209 \item Add volume slider?
nicholas@763 210 \item Cross-fade (in interface node): default 0, number of seconds
nicholas@763 211 \item Also: we use the playback buffer to present metrics of which portion is listened to
nicholas@763 212 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 213 \item Logging system information: whichever are possible (justify others)
nicholas@763 214 \item Input streams as audioelements
nicholas@763 215 \item Capture microphone to estimate loudness (especially Macbook)
nicholas@763 216 \item Test page (in-built oscillators): left-right calibration, ramp up test tone until you hear it; optional compensating EQ (future work implementing own filters) --> Highlight issues!
nicholas@763 217 \item Record IP address (PHP function, grab and append to XML file)
nicholas@763 218 \item Expand anchor/reference options
nicholas@763 219 \item AB / ABX
nicholas@763 220 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 221
nicholas@763 222 \subsubsection{Issues}
nicholas@763 223 \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 224 \item Filters not consistent (Nick to test across browsers)
nicholas@763 225 \item Playback audiobuffers need to be destroyed and rebuilt each time
nicholas@763 226 \item Can't get channel data, hardware input/output...
nicholas@763 227 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 228 \end{comment}
nicholas@763 229
nicholas@763 230 \section{Architecture} % title? 'back end'? % NICK
nicholas@763 231 \label{sec:architecture}
nicholas@763 232 %A slightly technical overview of the system. Talk about XML, JavaScript, Web Audio API, HTML5.
nicholas@763 233
nicholas@763 234 Although WAET uses a sparse subset of the Web Audio API functionality, its performance comes directly from it. Listening tests can convey large amounts of information other than obtaining the perceptual relationship between the audio fragments. With WAET it is possible to track which parts of the audio fragments were listened to and when, at what point in the audio stream the participant switched to a different fragment, and how a fragment's rating was adjusted over time within a session, to name a few. Not only does this allow evaluation of a wealth of perceptual aspects, but it also helps detect poor participants whose results are potentially not representative.
nicholas@763 235
nicholas@763 236 One of the key initial design parameters for WAET was to make the tool as open as possible to non-programmers and to this end all of the user modifiable options are included in a single XML document. This document is the specification document and can be designed either by manually writing the XML (or modifying an existing document or template) or using the included test creator. These standalone HTML pages do not require any server or internet connection and help a build the specification document. The first (test\_create.html) is for simple tests and operates step-by-step to guide the user through a drag and drop, clutter free interface. The advanced version is for more complex tests. Both models support automatic verification to ensure the XML file is valid and will highlight areas which are either incorrect and would cause an error, or options which should be removed as they are blank.
nicholas@763 237
nicholas@763 238 The basic test creator, Figure \ref{fig:test_create}, utilises the Web Audio API to perform quick playback checks and also allows for loudness normalisation techniques inspired from \cite{ape}. These are calculated offline by accessing the raw audio samples exposed from the buffer before being applied to the audio element as a gain attribute. Therefore the tool performs loudness normalisation without editing any audio files. Equally the gain attribute can be modified in either editor using an HTML5 slider or number box respectively.
nicholas@763 239 \begin{comment}
nicholas@763 240 \begin{figure}[h!]
nicholas@763 241 \centering
nicholas@763 242 \includegraphics[width=.45\textwidth]{test_create_2.png}
nicholas@763 243 \caption{Screen-shot of test creator tool using drag and drop to create specification document}
nicholas@763 244 \label{fig:test_create}
nicholas@763 245 \end{figure}
nicholas@763 246 \end{comment}
nicholas@763 247
nicholas@763 248 %Describe and/or visualise audioholder-audioelement-... structure.
nicholas@763 249 The specification document contains the URL of the audio fragments for each test page. These fragments are downloaded asynchronously in the test and decoded offline by the Web Audio offline decoder. The resulting buffers are assigned to a custom Audio Objects node which tracks the fragment buffer, the playback \textit{bufferSourceNode}, other specification attributes including its unique test ID, the interface object(s) associated with the fragment and any metric or data collection objects. The Audio Object is controlled by an over-arching custom Audio Context node (not to be confused with the Web Audio Context). This parent JS Node allows for session wide control of the Audio Objects including starting and stopping playback of specific nodes.
nicholas@763 250
nicholas@763 251 The only issue with this model is the \textit{bufferNode} in the Web Audio API, implemented in the standard as a `use once' object. Once this has been played, the node must be discarded as it cannot be instructed to play the same \textit{bufferSourceNode} again. Therefore on each play request the buffer object must be created and then linked with the stored \textit{bufferSourceNode}. This is an odd behaviour for such a simple object which has no alternative except to use the HTML5 audio element. However, they do not have the ability to synchronously start on a given time and therefore not suited.
nicholas@763 252
nicholas@763 253 In the test, each buffer node is connected to a gain node which will operate at the level determined by the specification document. Therefore it is possible to perform a `Method of Adjustment' test where an interface could directly manipulate these gain nodes. These gain nodes are used for cross-fading between samples when operating in synchronous playback. Cross-fading can either be fade-out fade-in or a true cross-fade. There is also an optional `Master Volume' slider which can be shown on the test GUI. This slider modifies a gain node before the destination node. This slider can also be monitored and therefore its data tracked providing extra validation. This is not indicative of the final volume exiting the speakers and therefore its use should only be considered in a lab environment to ensure proper usage.
nicholas@763 254
nicholas@763 255 %Which type of files? WAV, anything else? Perhaps not exhaustive list, but say something along the lines of 'whatever browser supports'. Compatability?
nicholas@763 256 The media files supported depend on the browser level support for the initial decoding of information and is the same as the browser support for the HTML5 audio element. The most widely supported media file is the wave (.WAV) format which is accepted by every browser supporting the Web Audio API. The toolbox will work in any browser which supports the Web Audio API.
nicholas@763 257
nicholas@763 258 All the collected session data is returned in an XML document structured similarly to the configuration document, where test pages contain the audio elements with their trace collection, results, comments and any other interface-specific data points.
nicholas@763 259
nicholas@763 260 \section{Remote tests} % with previous?
nicholas@763 261 \label{sec:remote}
nicholas@763 262
nicholas@763 263 If the experimenter is willing to trade some degree of control for a higher number of participants, the test can be hosted on a public web server so that participants can take part remotely. This way, a link can be shared widely in the hope of attracting a large amount of subjects, while listening conditions and subject reliability may be less ideal. However, a sound system calibration page and a wide range of metrics logged during the test mitigate these problems. In some experiments, it may be preferred that the subject has a `real life', familiar listening set-up, for instance when perceived quality differences on everyday sound systems are investigated.
nicholas@763 264 Furthermore, a fully browser-based test, where the collection of the results is automatic, is more efficient and technically reliable even when the test still takes place under lab conditions.
nicholas@763 265
nicholas@763 266 The following features allow easy and effective remote testing:
nicholas@763 267 \begin{description}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 268 \item[PHP script to collect result XML files] and store on central server.
nicholas@763 269 \item[Randomly pick a specified number of pages] to ensure an equal and randomised spread of the different pages (`audioHolders') across participants.
nicholas@763 270 \item[Calibration of the sound system (and participant)] by a perceptual pre-test to gather information about the frequency response and speaker configuration - this can be supplemented with a survey.
nicholas@763 271 % In theory calibration could be applied anywhere??
nicholas@763 272 % \item Functionality to participate multiple times
nicholas@763 273 % \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 274 % \item Possible to log in with unique ID (no password)
nicholas@763 275 % \item Pick `new user' (generates new, unique ID) or `already participated' (need already available ID)
nicholas@763 276 % \item Store XML on server with IDs plus which audioholders have already been listened to
nicholas@763 277 % \item Don't show `post-test' survey after first time
nicholas@763 278 % \item Pick `new' audioholders if available
nicholas@763 279 % \item Copy survey information first time to new XMLs
nicholas@763 280 % \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 281 \item[Intermediate saves] for tests which were interrupted or unfinished.
nicholas@763 282 \item[Collect IP address information] for geographic location, through PHP function which grabs address and appends to XML file.
nicholas@763 283 \item[Collect Browser and Display information] to the extent it is available and reliable.
nicholas@763 284 \end{description}
nicholas@763 285
nicholas@763 286
nicholas@763 287 \section{Interfaces} % title? 'Front end'? % Dave
nicholas@763 288 \label{sec:interfaces}
nicholas@763 289
nicholas@763 290 The purpose of this listening test framework is to allow any user the maximum flexibility to design a listening test for their exact application with minimum effort. To this end, a large range of standard listening test interfaces have been implemented.
nicholas@763 291
nicholas@763 292 To provide users with a flexible system, a large range of `standard' listening test interfaces have been implemented, including: % pretty much the same wording as two sentences earlier
nicholas@763 293 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 294 \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nicholas@763 295 \begin{comment}
nicholas@763 296 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 297 \item Multiple stimuli are presented and rated on a continuous scale, which includes a reference, hidden reference and hidden anchors.
nicholas@763 298 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 299 \end{comment}
nicholas@763 300 \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}: stimuli ranked on single horizontal scale, where they are ordered in preference order.
nicholas@763 301 \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}: each stimuli has a five point scale with values: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.
nicholas@763 302 \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116} (Mean Opinion Score: MOS): each stimulus has a continuous scale (5-1), labeled as Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying.
nicholas@763 303 \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref: each stimulus has a continuous scale -50 to 50 with default values as 0 in middle and a reference.
nicholas@763 304 \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: Likert but labels are Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
nicholas@763 305 \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: ABC \& Likert but labels are (5) Inaudible, (4) Audible but not annoying, (3) slightly annoying, (2) annoying, (1) very annoying.
nicholas@763 306 \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: ACR \& DCR but 7 point scale: Much Better, Better, Slightly Better, About the same, slightly worse, worse, much worse. There is also a provided reference.
nicholas@763 307 \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}: each stimuli has a seven point scale with values: Like Extremely, Like Very Much, Like Moderate, Like Slightly, Neither Like nor Dislike, dislike Extremely, dislike Very Much, dislike Moderate, dislike Slightly. There is also a provided reference.
nicholas@763 308 \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}: Same as ABC/HR but with a reference.
nicholas@763 309 \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}: every stimulus is rated as being either better or worse than the reference.
nicholas@763 310 \item APE style \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli as points on a 2D plane for inter-sample rating (eg. Valence Arousal)
nicholas@763 311 \item AB Test~\cite{lipshitz1981great}: Two stimuli presented at a time, participant selects a preferred stimulus.
nicholas@763 312 \item ABX Test~\cite{clark1982high}: Two stimuli are presented along with a reference and the participant has to select a preferred stimulus, often the closest to the reference.
nicholas@763 313 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 314
nicholas@763 315 It is possible to include any number of references, anchors, hidden references and hidden anchors into all of these listening test formats.
nicholas@763 316
nicholas@763 317 Because of the design to separate the core code and interface modules, it is possible for a 3rd party interface to be built with minimal effort. The repository includes documentation on which functions must be called and the specific functions they expect your interface to perform. The core includes an `Interface' object which includes object prototypes for the on-page comment boxes (including those with radio or checkbox responses), start and stop buttons and the playhead / transport bars.
nicholas@763 318
nicholas@763 319 %%%% \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 320 %%%% \item (APE style) \cite{ape}
nicholas@763 321 %%%% \item Multi attribute ratings
nicholas@763 322 %%%% \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nicholas@763 323 %%%% \item Interval Scale~\cite{zacharov1999round}
nicholas@763 324 %%%% \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}
nicholas@763 325 %%%%
nicholas@763 326 %%%% \item 2D Plane rating - e.g. Valence vs. Arousal~\cite{carroll1969individual}
nicholas@763 327 %%%% \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}
nicholas@763 328 %%%%
nicholas@763 329 %%%% \item {\bf All the following are the interfaces available in HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} }
nicholas@763 330 %%%% \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116}
nicholas@763 331 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 332 %%%% \item Continuous Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)
nicholas@763 333 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 334 %%%% \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref
nicholas@763 335 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 336 %%%% \item Scale -50 to 50 on Mushra with default values as 0 in middle and a comparison ``Reference'' to compare to 0 value
nicholas@763 337 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 338 %%%% \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nicholas@763 339 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 340 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent (Default fair?)
nicholas@763 341 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 342 %%%% \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nicholas@763 343 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 344 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Inaudible, Audible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?) - {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR?}
nicholas@763 345 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 346 %%%% \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nicholas@763 347 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 348 %%%% \item 7 point scale: Much Better, Better, Slightly Better, About the same, slightly worse, worse, much worse - Default about the same with reference to compare to
nicholas@763 349 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 350 %%%% \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}
nicholas@763 351 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 352 %%%% \item 9 point scale: Like Extremely, Like Very Much, Like Moderate, Like Slightly, Neither Like nor Dislike, dislike Extremely, dislike Very Much, dislike Moderate, dislike Slightly - Default Neither Like nor Dislike with reference to compare to
nicholas@763 353 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 354 %%%% \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}
nicholas@763 355 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 356 %%%% \item 5 point Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)- {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR, or Different named DCR}
nicholas@763 357 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 358 %%%% \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}
nicholas@763 359 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nicholas@763 360 %%%% \item 2 point Scale - Better or Worse - (not sure how to default this - they default everything to better, which is an interesting choice)
nicholas@763 361 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 362 %%%% \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 363
nicholas@763 364 % Build your own test
nicholas@763 365
nicholas@763 366 \begin{comment}
nicholas@763 367 { \bf A screenshot would be nice.
nicholas@763 368
nicholas@763 369 Established tests (see below) included as `presets' in the build-your-own-test page. }
nicholas@763 370 \end{comment}
nicholas@763 371
nicholas@763 372 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
nicholas@763 373 \label{sec:analysis}
nicholas@763 374 % don't mention Python scripts
nicholas@763 375 There are several benefits to providing basic analysis tools in the browser: they allow diagnosing problems, with the interface or with the test subject; they may be sufficient for many researchers' purposes; and test subjects may enjoy seeing an overview of their own results and/or results thus far at the end of their tests.
nicholas@763 376 \begin{figure}[bhf]
nicholas@763 377 \centering
nicholas@763 378 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{boxplot.png}
nicholas@763 379 %\caption{This timeline of a single subject's listening test shows playback of fragments (red segments) and marker movements on the rating axis in function of time. }
nicholas@763 380 \caption{Box and whisker plot showing the aggregated numerical ratings of six stimuli by a group of subjects.}
nicholas@763 381 \label{fig:timeline}
nicholas@763 382 \end{figure}
nicholas@763 383 For this reason, we include a proof-of-concept web page with:
nicholas@763 384 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nicholas@763 385 \item All audioholder IDs, file names, subject IDs, audio element IDs, ... in the collected XMLs so far (\texttt{saves/*.xml})
nicholas@763 386 \item Selection of subjects and/or test samples to zoom in on a subset of the data %Check/uncheck each of the above for analysis (e.g. zoom in on a certain song, or exclude a subset of subjects)
nicholas@763 387 \item Embedded audio to hear corresponding test samples % (follow path in XML setup file, which is also embedded in the XML result file)
nicholas@763 388 \item Scatter plot, confidence plot and box plot of rating values (see Figure )
nicholas@763 389 \item Timeline for a specific subject %(see Figure \ref{fig:timeline})%, perhaps re-playing the experiment in X times realtime. (If actual realtime, you could replay the audio...)
nicholas@763 390 \item Distribution plots of any radio button and number questions in pre- and post-test survey %(drop-down menu with `pretest', `posttest', ...; then drop-down menu with question `IDs' like `gender', `age', ...; make pie chart/histogram of these values over selected range of XMLs)
nicholas@763 391 \item All `comments' on a specific audioelement
nicholas@763 392 \item A `download' function for a CSV of ratings, survey responses and comments% various things (values, survey responses, comments) people might want to use for analysis, e.g. when XML scares them
nicholas@763 393 %\item Validation of setup XMLs (easily spot `errors', like duplicate IDs or URLs, missing/dangling tags, ...)
nicholas@763 394 \end{itemize}
nicholas@763 395
nicholas@763 396
nicholas@763 397 %A subset of the above would already be nice for this paper.
nicholas@763 398 \section{Concluding remarks and future work}
nicholas@763 399 \label{sec:conclusion}
nicholas@763 400
nicholas@763 401 We have developed a browser-based tool for the design and deployment of listening tests, essentially requiring no programming experience and third party software. Following the predictions or guidelines in \cite{schoeffler2015mushra}, it supports remote testing, cross-fading between audio streams, collecting information about the system, among others.
nicholas@763 402
nicholas@763 403 Whereas many other types of interfaces do exist, we felt that supporting e.g. a range of `method of adjustment' tests would be beyond the scope of a tool that aims to be versatile enough while not claiming to support any custom experiment one might want to set up. Rather, it supports any non-adaptive listening test up to multi-stimulus, multi-attribute evaluation including references, anchors, text boxes, radio buttons and/or checkboxes, with arbitrary placement of the various UI elements.
nicholas@763 404
nicholas@763 405 The code and documentation can be pulled or downloaded from our online repository available at \url{code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool}.
nicholas@763 406 % remote
nicholas@763 407 % language support (not explicitly stated)
nicholas@763 408 % crossfades
nicholas@763 409 % choosing speakers/sound device from within browser? --- NOT POSSIBLE, can only determine channel output counts and its up to the hardware to determine
nicholas@763 410 % collect information about software and sound system
nicholas@763 411 % buttons, scales, ... UI elements
nicholas@763 412 % must be able to load uncompressed PCM
nicholas@763 413
nicholas@763 414 %
nicholas@763 415 % The following two commands are all you need in the
nicholas@763 416 % initial runs of your .tex file to
nicholas@763 417 % produce the bibliography for the citations in your paper.
nicholas@763 418 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
nicholas@763 419 \small
nicholas@763 420 \bibliography{WAC2016} % sigproc.bib is the name of the Bibliography in this case
nicholas@763 421 % You must have a proper ".bib" file
nicholas@763 422 % and remember to run:
nicholas@763 423 % latex bibtex latex latex
nicholas@763 424 % to resolve all references
nicholas@763 425 %
nicholas@763 426 % ACM needs 'a single self-contained file'!
nicholas@763 427 %
nicholas@763 428 \end{document}