annotate docs/WAC2016/WAC2016.tex @ 1365:c4156df1dcb5

More instructions. Added comment box sections. Still wip.
author Nicholas Jillings <nickjillings@users.noreply.github.com>
date Wed, 27 Jan 2016 09:49:42 +0000
parents 64541cd9265d
children 888292c88c33
rev   line source
nickjillings@1318 1 \documentclass{sig-alternate}
nickjillings@1318 2 \usepackage{hyperref} % make links (like references, links to Sections, ...) clickable
nickjillings@1318 3 \usepackage{enumitem} % tighten itemize etc by appending '[noitemsep,nolistsep]'
nickjillings@1318 4 \usepackage{cleveref}
nickjillings@1318 5
nickjillings@1318 6 \graphicspath{{img/}} % put the images in this folder
nickjillings@1318 7
nickjillings@1318 8 \begin{document}
nickjillings@1318 9
nickjillings@1318 10 % Copyright
nickjillings@1318 11 \setcopyright{waclicense}
nickjillings@1318 12
nickjillings@1318 13 \newcommand*\rot{\rotatebox{90}}
nickjillings@1318 14
nickjillings@1318 15
nickjillings@1318 16 %% DOI
nickjillings@1318 17 %\doi{10.475/123_4}
nickjillings@1318 18 %
nickjillings@1318 19 %% ISBN
nickjillings@1318 20 %\isbn{123-4567-24-567/08/06}
nickjillings@1318 21 %
nickjillings@1318 22 %%Conference
nickjillings@1318 23 %\conferenceinfo{PLDI '13}{June 16--19, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA}
nickjillings@1318 24 %
nickjillings@1318 25 %\acmPrice{\$15.00}
nickjillings@1318 26
nickjillings@1318 27 %
nickjillings@1318 28 % --- Author Metadata here ---
nickjillings@1318 29 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA}
nickjillings@1318 30 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 32 % --- End of Author Metadata ---
nickjillings@1318 33
nickjillings@1318 34 \title{Web Audio Evaluation Tool: A framework for subjective assessment of audio}
nickjillings@1318 35 %\subtitle{[Extended Abstract]
nickjillings@1318 36 %\titlenote{A full version of this paper is available as
nickjillings@1318 37 %\textit{Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using
nickjillings@1318 38 %\LaTeX$2_\epsilon$\ and BibTeX} at
nickjillings@1318 39 %\texttt{www.acm.org/eaddress.htm}}}
nickjillings@1318 40 %
nickjillings@1318 41 % You need the command \numberofauthors to handle the 'placement
nickjillings@1318 42 % and alignment' of the authors beneath the title.
nickjillings@1318 43 %
nickjillings@1318 44 % For aesthetic reasons, we recommend 'three authors at a time'
nickjillings@1318 45 % i.e. three 'name/affiliation blocks' be placed beneath the title.
nickjillings@1318 46 %
nickjillings@1318 47 % NOTE: You are NOT restricted in how many 'rows' of
nickjillings@1318 48 % "name/affiliations" may appear. We just ask that you restrict
nickjillings@1318 49 % the number of 'columns' to three.
nickjillings@1318 50 %
nickjillings@1318 51 % Because of the available 'opening page real-estate'
nickjillings@1318 52 % we ask you to refrain from putting more than six authors
nickjillings@1318 53 % (two rows with three columns) beneath the article title.
nickjillings@1318 54 % More than six makes the first-page appear very cluttered indeed.
nickjillings@1318 55 %
nickjillings@1318 56 % Use the \alignauthor commands to handle the names
nickjillings@1318 57 % and affiliations for an 'aesthetic maximum' of six authors.
nickjillings@1318 58 % Add names, affiliations, addresses for
nickjillings@1318 59 % the seventh etc. author(s) as the argument for the
nickjillings@1318 60 % \additionalauthors command.
nickjillings@1318 61 % These 'additional authors' will be output/set for you
nickjillings@1318 62 % without further effort on your part as the last section in
nickjillings@1318 63 % the body of your article BEFORE References or any Appendices.
nickjillings@1318 64
nickjillings@1318 65 % FIVE authors instead of four, to leave space between first two authors.
nickjillings@1318 66 \numberofauthors{5} % in this sample file, there are a *total*
nickjillings@1318 67 % of EIGHT authors. SIX appear on the 'first-page' (for formatting
nickjillings@1318 68 % reasons) and the remaining two appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nickjillings@1318 69 %
nickjillings@1318 70 \author{
nickjillings@1318 71 % You can go ahead and credit any number of authors here,
nickjillings@1318 72 % e.g. one 'row of three' or two rows (consisting of one row of three
nickjillings@1318 73 % and a second row of one, two or three).
nickjillings@1318 74 %
nickjillings@1318 75 % The command \alignauthor (no curly braces needed) should
nickjillings@1318 76 % precede each author name, affiliation/snail-mail address and
nickjillings@1318 77 % e-mail address. Additionally, tag each line of
nickjillings@1318 78 % affiliation/address with \affaddr, and tag the
nickjillings@1318 79 % e-mail address with \email.
nickjillings@1318 80 %
nickjillings@1318 81 % 1st. author
nickjillings@1318 82 \alignauthor Nicholas Jillings\\
nickjillings@1318 83 \email{n.g.r.jillings@se14.qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 84 % dummy author for nicer spacing
nickjillings@1318 85 \alignauthor
nickjillings@1318 86 % 2nd. author
nickjillings@1318 87 \alignauthor Brecht De Man\\
nickjillings@1318 88 \email{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 89 \and % use '\and' if you need 'another row' of author names
nickjillings@1318 90 % 3rd. author
nickjillings@1318 91 \alignauthor David Moffat\\
nickjillings@1318 92 \email{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 93 % 4th. author
nickjillings@1318 94 \alignauthor Joshua D. Reiss\\
nickjillings@1318 95 \email{joshua.reiss@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1318 96 \and % new line for address
nickjillings@1318 97 \affaddr{Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science}\\
nickjillings@1318 98 \affaddr{Queen Mary University of London}\\
nickjillings@1318 99 \affaddr{Mile End Road,}
nickjillings@1318 100 \affaddr{London E1 4NS}\\
nickjillings@1318 101 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
nickjillings@1318 102 }
nickjillings@1318 103 %Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
nickjillings@1318 104 %% 5th. author
nickjillings@1318 105 %\alignauthor Sean Fogarty\\
nickjillings@1318 106 % \affaddr{NASA Ames Research Center}\\
nickjillings@1318 107 % \affaddr{Moffett Field}\\
nickjillings@1318 108 % \email{fogartys@amesres.org}
nickjillings@1318 109 %% 6th. author
nickjillings@1318 110 %\alignauthor Charles Palmer\\
nickjillings@1318 111 % \affaddr{Palmer Research Laboratories}\\
nickjillings@1318 112 % \affaddr{8600 Datapoint Drive}\\
nickjillings@1318 113 % \email{cpalmer@prl.com}
nickjillings@1318 114 %}
nickjillings@1318 115 % There's nothing stopping you putting the seventh, eighth, etc.
nickjillings@1318 116 % author on the opening page (as the 'third row') but we ask,
nickjillings@1318 117 % for aesthetic reasons that you place these 'additional authors'
nickjillings@1318 118 % in the \additional authors block, viz.
nickjillings@1318 119 %\additionalauthors{Additional authors: John Smith (The Th{\o}rv{\"a}ld Group,
nickjillings@1318 120 %email: {\texttt{jsmith@affiliation.org}}) and Julius P.~Kumquat
nickjillings@1318 121 %(The Kumquat Consortium, email: {\texttt{jpkumquat@consortium.net}}).}
nickjillings@1318 122 \date{1 October 2015}
nickjillings@1318 123 % Just remember to make sure that the TOTAL number of authors
nickjillings@1318 124 % is the number that will appear on the first page PLUS the
nickjillings@1318 125 % number that will appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nickjillings@1318 126
nickjillings@1318 127 \maketitle
nickjillings@1318 128 \begin{abstract}
nickjillings@1318 129
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 131
nickjillings@1318 132 \end{abstract}
nickjillings@1318 133
nickjillings@1318 134
nickjillings@1318 135 \section{Introduction}
nickjillings@1318 136
nickjillings@1318 137 % Listening tests/perceptual audio evaluation: what are they, why are they important
nickjillings@1318 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...
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 140 In less technical areas, the framework of a listening test can be used to measure emotional response to music or test cognitive abilities.
nickjillings@1318 141 % maybe some references? If there's space.
nickjillings@1318 142
nickjillings@1318 143 % check out http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-015-0270-8 - only paper that cited WAC15 paper
nickjillings@1318 144
nickjillings@1318 145 % Why difficult? Challenges? What constitutes a good interface?
nickjillings@1318 146 % Technical, interfaces, user friendliness, reliability
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 148
nickjillings@1318 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}.
nickjillings@1318 150
nickjillings@1318 151 % Why in the browser?
nickjillings@1318 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}.
nickjillings@1318 153
nickjillings@1318 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?...
nickjillings@1318 155
nickjillings@1318 156 % only browser-based?
nickjillings@1318 157 \begin{table*}[ht]
nickjillings@1318 158 \caption{Table with existing listening test platforms and their features}
nickjillings@1318 159 \small
nickjillings@1318 160 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1318 161 \begin{tabular}{|*{9}{l|}}
nickjillings@1318 162 \hline
nickjillings@1318 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
nickjillings@1318 164 \textbf{Reference} & \cite{ape} & \cite{beaqlejs} & \cite{hultigen} & & \cite{mushram} & \cite{scale} & \cite{whisper} & \cite{waet} \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 165 \textbf{Language} & MATLAB & JS & MAX & JS & MATLAB & MATLAB & MATLAB & JS \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 166 \textbf{Remote} & & (\checkmark) & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline \hline
nickjillings@1318 167 MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534) & & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 168 APE & \checkmark & & & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 169 Rank Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 170 Likert Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 171 ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116) & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 172 -50 to 50 Bipolar with ref. & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 173 Absolute Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 174 Degradation Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 175 Comparison Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 176 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 177 ITU-R 5 Continuous Impairment Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 178 Pairwise / AB Test & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 179 Multi-attribute ratings & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 180 ABX Test & & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 181 Adaptive psychophysical methods & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 182 Repertory Grid Technique & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 183 Semantic Differential & & & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark &\checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 184 n-Alternative Forced Choice & & & & & & \checkmark & & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1318 185 \end{tabular}
nickjillings@1318 186 \end{center}
nickjillings@1318 187 \label{tab:toolboxes}
nickjillings@1318 188 \end{table*}
nickjillings@1318 189 %
nickjillings@1318 190 %Selling points: remote tests, visualisaton, create your own test in the browser, many interfaces, few/no dependencies, flexibility
nickjillings@1318 191
nickjillings@1318 192 %[Talking about what we do in the various sections of this paper. Referring to \cite{waet}. ]
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 194
nickjillings@1318 195 \begin{figure}[tb]
nickjillings@1318 196 \centering
nickjillings@1318 197 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{interface.png}
nickjillings@1318 198 \caption{A simple example of a multi-stimulus, single attribute, single rating scale test with a reference and comment fields.}
nickjillings@1318 199 \label{fig:interface}
nickjillings@1318 200 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 201
nickjillings@1318 202 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1318 203 % MEETING 8 OCTOBER
nickjillings@1318 204 \subsection{Meeting 8 October}
nickjillings@1318 205 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 206 \item Do we manipulate audio?\\
nickjillings@1318 207 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 208 \item Add loudness equalisation? (test\_create.html) Tag with gains.
nickjillings@1318 209 \item Add volume slider?
nickjillings@1318 210 \item Cross-fade (in interface node): default 0, number of seconds
nickjillings@1318 211 \item Also: we use the playback buffer to present metrics of which portion is listened to
nickjillings@1318 212 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 213 \item Logging system information: whichever are possible (justify others)
nickjillings@1318 214 \item Input streams as audioelements
nickjillings@1318 215 \item Capture microphone to estimate loudness (especially Macbook)
nickjillings@1318 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!
nickjillings@1318 217 \item Record IP address (PHP function, grab and append to XML file)
nickjillings@1318 218 \item Expand anchor/reference options
nickjillings@1318 219 \item AB / ABX
nickjillings@1318 220 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 221
nickjillings@1318 222 \subsubsection{Issues}
nickjillings@1318 223 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 224 \item Filters not consistent (Nick to test across browsers)
nickjillings@1318 225 \item Playback audiobuffers need to be destroyed and rebuilt each time
nickjillings@1318 226 \item Can't get channel data, hardware input/output...
nickjillings@1318 227 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 228 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1318 229
nickjillings@1318 230 \section{Architecture} % title? 'back end'? % NICK
nickjillings@1318 231 \label{sec:architecture}
nickjillings@1318 232 %A slightly technical overview of the system. Talk about XML, JavaScript, Web Audio API, HTML5.
nickjillings@1318 233
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 235
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 237
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 239 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1318 240 \begin{figure}[h!]
nickjillings@1318 241 \centering
nickjillings@1318 242 \includegraphics[width=.45\textwidth]{test_create_2.png}
nickjillings@1318 243 \caption{Screen-shot of test creator tool using drag and drop to create specification document}
nickjillings@1318 244 \label{fig:test_create}
nickjillings@1318 245 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 246 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1318 247
nickjillings@1318 248 %Describe and/or visualise audioholder-audioelement-... structure.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 250
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 252
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 254
nickjillings@1318 255 %Which type of files? WAV, anything else? Perhaps not exhaustive list, but say something along the lines of 'whatever browser supports'. Compatability?
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 257
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 259
nickjillings@1318 260 \section{Remote tests} % with previous?
nickjillings@1318 261 \label{sec:remote}
nickjillings@1318 262
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 265
nickjillings@1318 266 The following features allow easy and effective remote testing:
nickjillings@1318 267 \begin{description}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 268 \item[PHP script to collect result XML files] and store on central server.
nickjillings@1318 269 \item[Randomly pick a specified number of pages] to ensure an equal and randomised spread of the different pages (`audioHolders') across participants.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 271 % In theory calibration could be applied anywhere??
nickjillings@1318 272 % \item Functionality to participate multiple times
nickjillings@1318 273 % \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 274 % \item Possible to log in with unique ID (no password)
nickjillings@1318 275 % \item Pick `new user' (generates new, unique ID) or `already participated' (need already available ID)
nickjillings@1318 276 % \item Store XML on server with IDs plus which audioholders have already been listened to
nickjillings@1318 277 % \item Don't show `post-test' survey after first time
nickjillings@1318 278 % \item Pick `new' audioholders if available
nickjillings@1318 279 % \item Copy survey information first time to new XMLs
nickjillings@1318 280 % \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 281 \item[Intermediate saves] for tests which were interrupted or unfinished.
nickjillings@1318 282 \item[Collect IP address information] for geographic location, through PHP function which grabs address and appends to XML file.
nickjillings@1318 283 \item[Collect Browser and Display information] to the extent it is available and reliable.
nickjillings@1318 284 \end{description}
nickjillings@1318 285
nickjillings@1318 286
nickjillings@1318 287 \section{Interfaces} % title? 'Front end'? % Dave
nickjillings@1318 288 \label{sec:interfaces}
nickjillings@1318 289
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 291
nickjillings@1318 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
nickjillings@1318 293 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 294 \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nickjillings@1318 295 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1318 296 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 297 \item Multiple stimuli are presented and rated on a continuous scale, which includes a reference, hidden reference and hidden anchors.
nickjillings@1318 298 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 299 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1318 300 \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}: stimuli ranked on single horizontal scale, where they are ordered in preference order.
nickjillings@1318 301 \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}: each stimuli has a five point scale with values: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 304 \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: Likert but labels are Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 308 \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}: Same as ABC/HR but with a reference.
nickjillings@1318 309 \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}: every stimulus is rated as being either better or worse than the reference.
nickjillings@1318 310 \item APE style \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli as points on a 2D plane for inter-sample rating (eg. Valence Arousal)
nickjillings@1318 311 \item AB Test~\cite{lipshitz1981great}: Two stimuli presented at a time, participant selects a preferred stimulus.
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 313 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 314
nickjillings@1318 315 It is possible to include any number of references, anchors, hidden references and hidden anchors into all of these listening test formats.
nickjillings@1318 316
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 318
nickjillings@1318 319 %%%% \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 320 %%%% \item (APE style) \cite{ape}
nickjillings@1318 321 %%%% \item Multi attribute ratings
nickjillings@1318 322 %%%% \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nickjillings@1318 323 %%%% \item Interval Scale~\cite{zacharov1999round}
nickjillings@1318 324 %%%% \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}
nickjillings@1318 325 %%%%
nickjillings@1318 326 %%%% \item 2D Plane rating - e.g. Valence vs. Arousal~\cite{carroll1969individual}
nickjillings@1318 327 %%%% \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}
nickjillings@1318 328 %%%%
nickjillings@1318 329 %%%% \item {\bf All the following are the interfaces available in HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} }
nickjillings@1318 330 %%%% \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116}
nickjillings@1318 331 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 332 %%%% \item Continuous Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)
nickjillings@1318 333 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 334 %%%% \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref
nickjillings@1318 335 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 336 %%%% \item Scale -50 to 50 on Mushra with default values as 0 in middle and a comparison ``Reference'' to compare to 0 value
nickjillings@1318 337 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 338 %%%% \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1318 339 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 340 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent (Default fair?)
nickjillings@1318 341 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 342 %%%% \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1318 343 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 344 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Inaudible, Audible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?) - {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR?}
nickjillings@1318 345 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 346 %%%% \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1318 347 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 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
nickjillings@1318 349 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 350 %%%% \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}
nickjillings@1318 351 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 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
nickjillings@1318 353 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 354 %%%% \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}
nickjillings@1318 355 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 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}
nickjillings@1318 357 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 358 %%%% \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}
nickjillings@1318 359 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 360 %%%% \item 2 point Scale - Better or Worse - (not sure how to default this - they default everything to better, which is an interesting choice)
nickjillings@1318 361 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 362 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 363
nickjillings@1318 364 % Build your own test
nickjillings@1318 365
nickjillings@1318 366 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1318 367 { \bf A screenshot would be nice.
nickjillings@1318 368
nickjillings@1318 369 Established tests (see below) included as `presets' in the build-your-own-test page. }
nickjillings@1318 370 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1318 371
nickjillings@1318 372 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
nickjillings@1318 373 \label{sec:analysis}
nickjillings@1318 374 % don't mention Python scripts
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 376 \begin{figure}[bhf]
nickjillings@1318 377 \centering
nickjillings@1318 378 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{boxplot.png}
nickjillings@1318 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. }
nickjillings@1318 380 \caption{Box and whisker plot showing the aggregated numerical ratings of six stimuli by a group of subjects.}
nickjillings@1318 381 \label{fig:timeline}
nickjillings@1318 382 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1318 383 For this reason, we include a proof-of-concept web page with:
nickjillings@1318 384 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1318 385 \item All audioholder IDs, file names, subject IDs, audio element IDs, ... in the collected XMLs so far (\texttt{saves/*.xml})
nickjillings@1318 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)
nickjillings@1318 387 \item Embedded audio to hear corresponding test samples % (follow path in XML setup file, which is also embedded in the XML result file)
nickjillings@1318 388 \item Scatter plot, confidence plot and box plot of rating values (see Figure )
nickjillings@1318 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...)
nickjillings@1318 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)
nickjillings@1318 391 \item All `comments' on a specific audioelement
nickjillings@1318 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
nickjillings@1318 393 %\item Validation of setup XMLs (easily spot `errors', like duplicate IDs or URLs, missing/dangling tags, ...)
nickjillings@1318 394 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1318 395
nickjillings@1318 396
nickjillings@1318 397 %A subset of the above would already be nice for this paper.
nickjillings@1318 398 \section{Concluding remarks and future work}
nickjillings@1318 399 \label{sec:conclusion}
nickjillings@1318 400
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 402
nickjillings@1318 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.
nickjillings@1318 404
nickjillings@1318 405 The code and documentation can be pulled or downloaded from our online repository available at \url{code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool}.
nickjillings@1318 406 % remote
nickjillings@1318 407 % language support (not explicitly stated)
nickjillings@1318 408 % crossfades
nickjillings@1318 409 % choosing speakers/sound device from within browser? --- NOT POSSIBLE, can only determine channel output counts and its up to the hardware to determine
nickjillings@1318 410 % collect information about software and sound system
nickjillings@1318 411 % buttons, scales, ... UI elements
nickjillings@1318 412 % must be able to load uncompressed PCM
nickjillings@1318 413
nickjillings@1318 414 %
nickjillings@1318 415 % The following two commands are all you need in the
nickjillings@1318 416 % initial runs of your .tex file to
nickjillings@1318 417 % produce the bibliography for the citations in your paper.
nickjillings@1318 418 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
nickjillings@1318 419 \small
nickjillings@1318 420 \bibliography{WAC2016} % sigproc.bib is the name of the Bibliography in this case
nickjillings@1318 421 % You must have a proper ".bib" file
nickjillings@1318 422 % and remember to run:
nickjillings@1318 423 % latex bibtex latex latex
nickjillings@1318 424 % to resolve all references
nickjillings@1318 425 %
nickjillings@1318 426 % ACM needs 'a single self-contained file'!
nickjillings@1318 427 %
nickjillings@1318 428 \end{document}