annotate docs/WAC2016/WAC2016.tex @ 1088:3705f68a38b7

The version I use and works, addresses issues #1622, #1616, partially #1620
author Giulio Moro <giuliomoro@yahoo.it>
date Mon, 22 Feb 2016 04:17:19 +0000
parents
children 888292c88c33
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giuliomoro@1088 1 \documentclass{sig-alternate}
giuliomoro@1088 2 \usepackage{hyperref} % make links (like references, links to Sections, ...) clickable
giuliomoro@1088 3 \usepackage{enumitem} % tighten itemize etc by appending '[noitemsep,nolistsep]'
giuliomoro@1088 4 \usepackage{cleveref}
giuliomoro@1088 5
giuliomoro@1088 6 \graphicspath{{img/}} % put the images in this folder
giuliomoro@1088 7
giuliomoro@1088 8 \begin{document}
giuliomoro@1088 9
giuliomoro@1088 10 % Copyright
giuliomoro@1088 11 \setcopyright{waclicense}
giuliomoro@1088 12
giuliomoro@1088 13 \newcommand*\rot{\rotatebox{90}}
giuliomoro@1088 14
giuliomoro@1088 15
giuliomoro@1088 16 %% DOI
giuliomoro@1088 17 %\doi{10.475/123_4}
giuliomoro@1088 18 %
giuliomoro@1088 19 %% ISBN
giuliomoro@1088 20 %\isbn{123-4567-24-567/08/06}
giuliomoro@1088 21 %
giuliomoro@1088 22 %%Conference
giuliomoro@1088 23 %\conferenceinfo{PLDI '13}{June 16--19, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA}
giuliomoro@1088 24 %
giuliomoro@1088 25 %\acmPrice{\$15.00}
giuliomoro@1088 26
giuliomoro@1088 27 %
giuliomoro@1088 28 % --- Author Metadata here ---
giuliomoro@1088 29 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA}
giuliomoro@1088 30 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 32 % --- End of Author Metadata ---
giuliomoro@1088 33
giuliomoro@1088 34 \title{Web Audio Evaluation Tool: A framework for subjective assessment of audio}
giuliomoro@1088 35 %\subtitle{[Extended Abstract]
giuliomoro@1088 36 %\titlenote{A full version of this paper is available as
giuliomoro@1088 37 %\textit{Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using
giuliomoro@1088 38 %\LaTeX$2_\epsilon$\ and BibTeX} at
giuliomoro@1088 39 %\texttt{www.acm.org/eaddress.htm}}}
giuliomoro@1088 40 %
giuliomoro@1088 41 % You need the command \numberofauthors to handle the 'placement
giuliomoro@1088 42 % and alignment' of the authors beneath the title.
giuliomoro@1088 43 %
giuliomoro@1088 44 % For aesthetic reasons, we recommend 'three authors at a time'
giuliomoro@1088 45 % i.e. three 'name/affiliation blocks' be placed beneath the title.
giuliomoro@1088 46 %
giuliomoro@1088 47 % NOTE: You are NOT restricted in how many 'rows' of
giuliomoro@1088 48 % "name/affiliations" may appear. We just ask that you restrict
giuliomoro@1088 49 % the number of 'columns' to three.
giuliomoro@1088 50 %
giuliomoro@1088 51 % Because of the available 'opening page real-estate'
giuliomoro@1088 52 % we ask you to refrain from putting more than six authors
giuliomoro@1088 53 % (two rows with three columns) beneath the article title.
giuliomoro@1088 54 % More than six makes the first-page appear very cluttered indeed.
giuliomoro@1088 55 %
giuliomoro@1088 56 % Use the \alignauthor commands to handle the names
giuliomoro@1088 57 % and affiliations for an 'aesthetic maximum' of six authors.
giuliomoro@1088 58 % Add names, affiliations, addresses for
giuliomoro@1088 59 % the seventh etc. author(s) as the argument for the
giuliomoro@1088 60 % \additionalauthors command.
giuliomoro@1088 61 % These 'additional authors' will be output/set for you
giuliomoro@1088 62 % without further effort on your part as the last section in
giuliomoro@1088 63 % the body of your article BEFORE References or any Appendices.
giuliomoro@1088 64
giuliomoro@1088 65 % FIVE authors instead of four, to leave space between first two authors.
giuliomoro@1088 66 \numberofauthors{5} % in this sample file, there are a *total*
giuliomoro@1088 67 % of EIGHT authors. SIX appear on the 'first-page' (for formatting
giuliomoro@1088 68 % reasons) and the remaining two appear in the \additionalauthors section.
giuliomoro@1088 69 %
giuliomoro@1088 70 \author{
giuliomoro@1088 71 % You can go ahead and credit any number of authors here,
giuliomoro@1088 72 % e.g. one 'row of three' or two rows (consisting of one row of three
giuliomoro@1088 73 % and a second row of one, two or three).
giuliomoro@1088 74 %
giuliomoro@1088 75 % The command \alignauthor (no curly braces needed) should
giuliomoro@1088 76 % precede each author name, affiliation/snail-mail address and
giuliomoro@1088 77 % e-mail address. Additionally, tag each line of
giuliomoro@1088 78 % affiliation/address with \affaddr, and tag the
giuliomoro@1088 79 % e-mail address with \email.
giuliomoro@1088 80 %
giuliomoro@1088 81 % 1st. author
giuliomoro@1088 82 \alignauthor Nicholas Jillings\\
giuliomoro@1088 83 \email{n.g.r.jillings@se14.qmul.ac.uk}
giuliomoro@1088 84 % dummy author for nicer spacing
giuliomoro@1088 85 \alignauthor
giuliomoro@1088 86 % 2nd. author
giuliomoro@1088 87 \alignauthor Brecht De Man\\
giuliomoro@1088 88 \email{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
giuliomoro@1088 89 \and % use '\and' if you need 'another row' of author names
giuliomoro@1088 90 % 3rd. author
giuliomoro@1088 91 \alignauthor David Moffat\\
giuliomoro@1088 92 \email{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
giuliomoro@1088 93 % 4th. author
giuliomoro@1088 94 \alignauthor Joshua D. Reiss\\
giuliomoro@1088 95 \email{joshua.reiss@qmul.ac.uk}
giuliomoro@1088 96 \and % new line for address
giuliomoro@1088 97 \affaddr{Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science}\\
giuliomoro@1088 98 \affaddr{Queen Mary University of London}\\
giuliomoro@1088 99 \affaddr{Mile End Road,}
giuliomoro@1088 100 \affaddr{London E1 4NS}\\
giuliomoro@1088 101 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
giuliomoro@1088 102 }
giuliomoro@1088 103 %Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
giuliomoro@1088 104 %% 5th. author
giuliomoro@1088 105 %\alignauthor Sean Fogarty\\
giuliomoro@1088 106 % \affaddr{NASA Ames Research Center}\\
giuliomoro@1088 107 % \affaddr{Moffett Field}\\
giuliomoro@1088 108 % \email{fogartys@amesres.org}
giuliomoro@1088 109 %% 6th. author
giuliomoro@1088 110 %\alignauthor Charles Palmer\\
giuliomoro@1088 111 % \affaddr{Palmer Research Laboratories}\\
giuliomoro@1088 112 % \affaddr{8600 Datapoint Drive}\\
giuliomoro@1088 113 % \email{cpalmer@prl.com}
giuliomoro@1088 114 %}
giuliomoro@1088 115 % There's nothing stopping you putting the seventh, eighth, etc.
giuliomoro@1088 116 % author on the opening page (as the 'third row') but we ask,
giuliomoro@1088 117 % for aesthetic reasons that you place these 'additional authors'
giuliomoro@1088 118 % in the \additional authors block, viz.
giuliomoro@1088 119 %\additionalauthors{Additional authors: John Smith (The Th{\o}rv{\"a}ld Group,
giuliomoro@1088 120 %email: {\texttt{jsmith@affiliation.org}}) and Julius P.~Kumquat
giuliomoro@1088 121 %(The Kumquat Consortium, email: {\texttt{jpkumquat@consortium.net}}).}
giuliomoro@1088 122 \date{1 October 2015}
giuliomoro@1088 123 % Just remember to make sure that the TOTAL number of authors
giuliomoro@1088 124 % is the number that will appear on the first page PLUS the
giuliomoro@1088 125 % number that will appear in the \additionalauthors section.
giuliomoro@1088 126
giuliomoro@1088 127 \maketitle
giuliomoro@1088 128 \begin{abstract}
giuliomoro@1088 129
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 131
giuliomoro@1088 132 \end{abstract}
giuliomoro@1088 133
giuliomoro@1088 134
giuliomoro@1088 135 \section{Introduction}
giuliomoro@1088 136
giuliomoro@1088 137 % Listening tests/perceptual audio evaluation: what are they, why are they important
giuliomoro@1088 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...
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 140 In less technical areas, the framework of a listening test can be used to measure emotional response to music or test cognitive abilities.
giuliomoro@1088 141 % maybe some references? If there's space.
giuliomoro@1088 142
giuliomoro@1088 143 % check out http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-015-0270-8 - only paper that cited WAC15 paper
giuliomoro@1088 144
giuliomoro@1088 145 % Why difficult? Challenges? What constitutes a good interface?
giuliomoro@1088 146 % Technical, interfaces, user friendliness, reliability
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 148
giuliomoro@1088 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}.
giuliomoro@1088 150
giuliomoro@1088 151 % Why in the browser?
giuliomoro@1088 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}.
giuliomoro@1088 153
giuliomoro@1088 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?...
giuliomoro@1088 155
giuliomoro@1088 156 % only browser-based?
giuliomoro@1088 157 \begin{table*}[ht]
giuliomoro@1088 158 \caption{Table with existing listening test platforms and their features}
giuliomoro@1088 159 \small
giuliomoro@1088 160 \begin{center}
giuliomoro@1088 161 \begin{tabular}{|*{9}{l|}}
giuliomoro@1088 162 \hline
giuliomoro@1088 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
giuliomoro@1088 164 \textbf{Reference} & \cite{ape} & \cite{beaqlejs} & \cite{hultigen} & & \cite{mushram} & \cite{scale} & \cite{whisper} & \cite{waet} \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 165 \textbf{Language} & MATLAB & JS & MAX & JS & MATLAB & MATLAB & MATLAB & JS \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 166 \textbf{Remote} & & (\checkmark) & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline \hline
giuliomoro@1088 167 MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534) & & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 168 APE & \checkmark & & & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 169 Rank Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 170 Likert Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 171 ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116) & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 172 -50 to 50 Bipolar with ref. & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 173 Absolute Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 174 Degradation Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 175 Comparison Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 176 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 177 ITU-R 5 Continuous Impairment Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 178 Pairwise / AB Test & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 179 Multi-attribute ratings & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 180 ABX Test & & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 181 Adaptive psychophysical methods & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 182 Repertory Grid Technique & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 183 Semantic Differential & & & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark &\checkmark \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 184 n-Alternative Forced Choice & & & & & & \checkmark & & \\ \hline
giuliomoro@1088 185 \end{tabular}
giuliomoro@1088 186 \end{center}
giuliomoro@1088 187 \label{tab:toolboxes}
giuliomoro@1088 188 \end{table*}
giuliomoro@1088 189 %
giuliomoro@1088 190 %Selling points: remote tests, visualisaton, create your own test in the browser, many interfaces, few/no dependencies, flexibility
giuliomoro@1088 191
giuliomoro@1088 192 %[Talking about what we do in the various sections of this paper. Referring to \cite{waet}. ]
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 194
giuliomoro@1088 195 \begin{figure}[tb]
giuliomoro@1088 196 \centering
giuliomoro@1088 197 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{interface.png}
giuliomoro@1088 198 \caption{A simple example of a multi-stimulus, single attribute, single rating scale test with a reference and comment fields.}
giuliomoro@1088 199 \label{fig:interface}
giuliomoro@1088 200 \end{figure}
giuliomoro@1088 201
giuliomoro@1088 202 \begin{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 203 % MEETING 8 OCTOBER
giuliomoro@1088 204 \subsection{Meeting 8 October}
giuliomoro@1088 205 \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 206 \item Do we manipulate audio?\\
giuliomoro@1088 207 \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 208 \item Add loudness equalisation? (test\_create.html) Tag with gains.
giuliomoro@1088 209 \item Add volume slider?
giuliomoro@1088 210 \item Cross-fade (in interface node): default 0, number of seconds
giuliomoro@1088 211 \item Also: we use the playback buffer to present metrics of which portion is listened to
giuliomoro@1088 212 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 213 \item Logging system information: whichever are possible (justify others)
giuliomoro@1088 214 \item Input streams as audioelements
giuliomoro@1088 215 \item Capture microphone to estimate loudness (especially Macbook)
giuliomoro@1088 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!
giuliomoro@1088 217 \item Record IP address (PHP function, grab and append to XML file)
giuliomoro@1088 218 \item Expand anchor/reference options
giuliomoro@1088 219 \item AB / ABX
giuliomoro@1088 220 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 221
giuliomoro@1088 222 \subsubsection{Issues}
giuliomoro@1088 223 \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 224 \item Filters not consistent (Nick to test across browsers)
giuliomoro@1088 225 \item Playback audiobuffers need to be destroyed and rebuilt each time
giuliomoro@1088 226 \item Can't get channel data, hardware input/output...
giuliomoro@1088 227 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 228 \end{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 229
giuliomoro@1088 230 \section{Architecture} % title? 'back end'? % NICK
giuliomoro@1088 231 \label{sec:architecture}
giuliomoro@1088 232 %A slightly technical overview of the system. Talk about XML, JavaScript, Web Audio API, HTML5.
giuliomoro@1088 233
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 235
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 237
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 239 \begin{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 240 \begin{figure}[h!]
giuliomoro@1088 241 \centering
giuliomoro@1088 242 \includegraphics[width=.45\textwidth]{test_create_2.png}
giuliomoro@1088 243 \caption{Screen-shot of test creator tool using drag and drop to create specification document}
giuliomoro@1088 244 \label{fig:test_create}
giuliomoro@1088 245 \end{figure}
giuliomoro@1088 246 \end{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 247
giuliomoro@1088 248 %Describe and/or visualise audioholder-audioelement-... structure.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 250
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 252
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 254
giuliomoro@1088 255 %Which type of files? WAV, anything else? Perhaps not exhaustive list, but say something along the lines of 'whatever browser supports'. Compatability?
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 257
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 259
giuliomoro@1088 260 \section{Remote tests} % with previous?
giuliomoro@1088 261 \label{sec:remote}
giuliomoro@1088 262
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 265
giuliomoro@1088 266 The following features allow easy and effective remote testing:
giuliomoro@1088 267 \begin{description}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 268 \item[PHP script to collect result XML files] and store on central server.
giuliomoro@1088 269 \item[Randomly pick a specified number of pages] to ensure an equal and randomised spread of the different pages (`audioHolders') across participants.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 271 % In theory calibration could be applied anywhere??
giuliomoro@1088 272 % \item Functionality to participate multiple times
giuliomoro@1088 273 % \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 274 % \item Possible to log in with unique ID (no password)
giuliomoro@1088 275 % \item Pick `new user' (generates new, unique ID) or `already participated' (need already available ID)
giuliomoro@1088 276 % \item Store XML on server with IDs plus which audioholders have already been listened to
giuliomoro@1088 277 % \item Don't show `post-test' survey after first time
giuliomoro@1088 278 % \item Pick `new' audioholders if available
giuliomoro@1088 279 % \item Copy survey information first time to new XMLs
giuliomoro@1088 280 % \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 281 \item[Intermediate saves] for tests which were interrupted or unfinished.
giuliomoro@1088 282 \item[Collect IP address information] for geographic location, through PHP function which grabs address and appends to XML file.
giuliomoro@1088 283 \item[Collect Browser and Display information] to the extent it is available and reliable.
giuliomoro@1088 284 \end{description}
giuliomoro@1088 285
giuliomoro@1088 286
giuliomoro@1088 287 \section{Interfaces} % title? 'Front end'? % Dave
giuliomoro@1088 288 \label{sec:interfaces}
giuliomoro@1088 289
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 291
giuliomoro@1088 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
giuliomoro@1088 293 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 294 \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
giuliomoro@1088 295 \begin{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 296 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 297 \item Multiple stimuli are presented and rated on a continuous scale, which includes a reference, hidden reference and hidden anchors.
giuliomoro@1088 298 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 299 \end{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 300 \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}: stimuli ranked on single horizontal scale, where they are ordered in preference order.
giuliomoro@1088 301 \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}: each stimuli has a five point scale with values: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 304 \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: Likert but labels are Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 308 \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}: Same as ABC/HR but with a reference.
giuliomoro@1088 309 \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}: every stimulus is rated as being either better or worse than the reference.
giuliomoro@1088 310 \item APE style \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli as points on a 2D plane for inter-sample rating (eg. Valence Arousal)
giuliomoro@1088 311 \item AB Test~\cite{lipshitz1981great}: Two stimuli presented at a time, participant selects a preferred stimulus.
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 313 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 314
giuliomoro@1088 315 It is possible to include any number of references, anchors, hidden references and hidden anchors into all of these listening test formats.
giuliomoro@1088 316
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 318
giuliomoro@1088 319 %%%% \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 320 %%%% \item (APE style) \cite{ape}
giuliomoro@1088 321 %%%% \item Multi attribute ratings
giuliomoro@1088 322 %%%% \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
giuliomoro@1088 323 %%%% \item Interval Scale~\cite{zacharov1999round}
giuliomoro@1088 324 %%%% \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}
giuliomoro@1088 325 %%%%
giuliomoro@1088 326 %%%% \item 2D Plane rating - e.g. Valence vs. Arousal~\cite{carroll1969individual}
giuliomoro@1088 327 %%%% \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}
giuliomoro@1088 328 %%%%
giuliomoro@1088 329 %%%% \item {\bf All the following are the interfaces available in HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} }
giuliomoro@1088 330 %%%% \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116}
giuliomoro@1088 331 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 332 %%%% \item Continuous Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)
giuliomoro@1088 333 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 334 %%%% \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref
giuliomoro@1088 335 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 336 %%%% \item Scale -50 to 50 on Mushra with default values as 0 in middle and a comparison ``Reference'' to compare to 0 value
giuliomoro@1088 337 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 338 %%%% \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
giuliomoro@1088 339 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 340 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent (Default fair?)
giuliomoro@1088 341 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 342 %%%% \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
giuliomoro@1088 343 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 344 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Inaudible, Audible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?) - {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR?}
giuliomoro@1088 345 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 346 %%%% \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
giuliomoro@1088 347 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 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
giuliomoro@1088 349 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 350 %%%% \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}
giuliomoro@1088 351 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 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
giuliomoro@1088 353 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 354 %%%% \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}
giuliomoro@1088 355 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 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}
giuliomoro@1088 357 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 358 %%%% \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}
giuliomoro@1088 359 %%%% \begin{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 360 %%%% \item 2 point Scale - Better or Worse - (not sure how to default this - they default everything to better, which is an interesting choice)
giuliomoro@1088 361 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 362 %%%% \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 363
giuliomoro@1088 364 % Build your own test
giuliomoro@1088 365
giuliomoro@1088 366 \begin{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 367 { \bf A screenshot would be nice.
giuliomoro@1088 368
giuliomoro@1088 369 Established tests (see below) included as `presets' in the build-your-own-test page. }
giuliomoro@1088 370 \end{comment}
giuliomoro@1088 371
giuliomoro@1088 372 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
giuliomoro@1088 373 \label{sec:analysis}
giuliomoro@1088 374 % don't mention Python scripts
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 376 \begin{figure}[bhf]
giuliomoro@1088 377 \centering
giuliomoro@1088 378 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{boxplot.png}
giuliomoro@1088 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. }
giuliomoro@1088 380 \caption{Box and whisker plot showing the aggregated numerical ratings of six stimuli by a group of subjects.}
giuliomoro@1088 381 \label{fig:timeline}
giuliomoro@1088 382 \end{figure}
giuliomoro@1088 383 For this reason, we include a proof-of-concept web page with:
giuliomoro@1088 384 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
giuliomoro@1088 385 \item All audioholder IDs, file names, subject IDs, audio element IDs, ... in the collected XMLs so far (\texttt{saves/*.xml})
giuliomoro@1088 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)
giuliomoro@1088 387 \item Embedded audio to hear corresponding test samples % (follow path in XML setup file, which is also embedded in the XML result file)
giuliomoro@1088 388 \item Scatter plot, confidence plot and box plot of rating values (see Figure )
giuliomoro@1088 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...)
giuliomoro@1088 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)
giuliomoro@1088 391 \item All `comments' on a specific audioelement
giuliomoro@1088 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
giuliomoro@1088 393 %\item Validation of setup XMLs (easily spot `errors', like duplicate IDs or URLs, missing/dangling tags, ...)
giuliomoro@1088 394 \end{itemize}
giuliomoro@1088 395
giuliomoro@1088 396
giuliomoro@1088 397 %A subset of the above would already be nice for this paper.
giuliomoro@1088 398 \section{Concluding remarks and future work}
giuliomoro@1088 399 \label{sec:conclusion}
giuliomoro@1088 400
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 402
giuliomoro@1088 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.
giuliomoro@1088 404
giuliomoro@1088 405 The code and documentation can be pulled or downloaded from our online repository available at \url{code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool}.
giuliomoro@1088 406 % remote
giuliomoro@1088 407 % language support (not explicitly stated)
giuliomoro@1088 408 % crossfades
giuliomoro@1088 409 % choosing speakers/sound device from within browser? --- NOT POSSIBLE, can only determine channel output counts and its up to the hardware to determine
giuliomoro@1088 410 % collect information about software and sound system
giuliomoro@1088 411 % buttons, scales, ... UI elements
giuliomoro@1088 412 % must be able to load uncompressed PCM
giuliomoro@1088 413
giuliomoro@1088 414 %
giuliomoro@1088 415 % The following two commands are all you need in the
giuliomoro@1088 416 % initial runs of your .tex file to
giuliomoro@1088 417 % produce the bibliography for the citations in your paper.
giuliomoro@1088 418 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
giuliomoro@1088 419 \small
giuliomoro@1088 420 \bibliography{WAC2016} % sigproc.bib is the name of the Bibliography in this case
giuliomoro@1088 421 % You must have a proper ".bib" file
giuliomoro@1088 422 % and remember to run:
giuliomoro@1088 423 % latex bibtex latex latex
giuliomoro@1088 424 % to resolve all references
giuliomoro@1088 425 %
giuliomoro@1088 426 % ACM needs 'a single self-contained file'!
giuliomoro@1088 427 %
giuliomoro@1088 428 \end{document}