annotate docs/WAC2016/WAC2016.tex @ 1315:d9b9f707f862

Updated author list for WAC 2016
author Nicholas Jillings <nickjillings@users.noreply.github.com>
date Sun, 21 Feb 2016 11:15:52 +0000
parents
children b5bf2f57187c a4ad9e55b5b8
rev   line source
nickjillings@1315 1 \documentclass{sig-alternate}
nickjillings@1315 2 \usepackage{hyperref} % make links (like references, links to Sections, ...) clickable
nickjillings@1315 3 \usepackage{enumitem} % tighten itemize etc by appending '[noitemsep,nolistsep]'
nickjillings@1315 4 \usepackage{cleveref}
nickjillings@1315 5
nickjillings@1315 6 \graphicspath{{img/}} % put the images in this folder
nickjillings@1315 7
nickjillings@1315 8 \begin{document}
nickjillings@1315 9
nickjillings@1315 10 % Copyright
nickjillings@1315 11 \setcopyright{waclicense}
nickjillings@1315 12
nickjillings@1315 13 \newcommand*\rot{\rotatebox{90}}
nickjillings@1315 14
nickjillings@1315 15
nickjillings@1315 16 %% DOI
nickjillings@1315 17 %\doi{10.475/123_4}
nickjillings@1315 18 %
nickjillings@1315 19 %% ISBN
nickjillings@1315 20 %\isbn{123-4567-24-567/08/06}
nickjillings@1315 21 %
nickjillings@1315 22 %%Conference
nickjillings@1315 23 %\conferenceinfo{PLDI '13}{June 16--19, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA}
nickjillings@1315 24 %
nickjillings@1315 25 %\acmPrice{\$15.00}
nickjillings@1315 26
nickjillings@1315 27 %
nickjillings@1315 28 % --- Author Metadata here ---
nickjillings@1315 29 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA}
nickjillings@1315 30 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
nickjillings@1315 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@1315 32 % --- End of Author Metadata ---
nickjillings@1315 33
nickjillings@1315 34 \title{Web Audio Evaluation Tool: A framework for subjective assessment of audio}
nickjillings@1315 35 %\subtitle{[Extended Abstract]
nickjillings@1315 36 %\titlenote{A full version of this paper is available as
nickjillings@1315 37 %\textit{Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using
nickjillings@1315 38 %\LaTeX$2_\epsilon$\ and BibTeX} at
nickjillings@1315 39 %\texttt{www.acm.org/eaddress.htm}}}
nickjillings@1315 40 %
nickjillings@1315 41 % You need the command \numberofauthors to handle the 'placement
nickjillings@1315 42 % and alignment' of the authors beneath the title.
nickjillings@1315 43 %
nickjillings@1315 44 % For aesthetic reasons, we recommend 'three authors at a time'
nickjillings@1315 45 % i.e. three 'name/affiliation blocks' be placed beneath the title.
nickjillings@1315 46 %
nickjillings@1315 47 % NOTE: You are NOT restricted in how many 'rows' of
nickjillings@1315 48 % "name/affiliations" may appear. We just ask that you restrict
nickjillings@1315 49 % the number of 'columns' to three.
nickjillings@1315 50 %
nickjillings@1315 51 % Because of the available 'opening page real-estate'
nickjillings@1315 52 % we ask you to refrain from putting more than six authors
nickjillings@1315 53 % (two rows with three columns) beneath the article title.
nickjillings@1315 54 % More than six makes the first-page appear very cluttered indeed.
nickjillings@1315 55 %
nickjillings@1315 56 % Use the \alignauthor commands to handle the names
nickjillings@1315 57 % and affiliations for an 'aesthetic maximum' of six authors.
nickjillings@1315 58 % Add names, affiliations, addresses for
nickjillings@1315 59 % the seventh etc. author(s) as the argument for the
nickjillings@1315 60 % \additionalauthors command.
nickjillings@1315 61 % These 'additional authors' will be output/set for you
nickjillings@1315 62 % without further effort on your part as the last section in
nickjillings@1315 63 % the body of your article BEFORE References or any Appendices.
nickjillings@1315 64
nickjillings@1315 65 % FIVE authors instead of four, to leave space between first two authors.
nickjillings@1315 66 \numberofauthors{6} % in this sample file, there are a *total*
nickjillings@1315 67 % of EIGHT authors. SIX appear on the 'first-page' (for formatting
nickjillings@1315 68 % reasons) and the remaining two appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nickjillings@1315 69 %
nickjillings@1315 70 \author{
nickjillings@1315 71 % You can go ahead and credit any number of authors here,
nickjillings@1315 72 % e.g. one 'row of three' or two rows (consisting of one row of three
nickjillings@1315 73 % and a second row of one, two or three).
nickjillings@1315 74 %
nickjillings@1315 75 % The command \alignauthor (no curly braces needed) should
nickjillings@1315 76 % precede each author name, affiliation/snail-mail address and
nickjillings@1315 77 % e-mail address. Additionally, tag each line of
nickjillings@1315 78 % affiliation/address with \affaddr, and tag the
nickjillings@1315 79 % e-mail address with \email.
nickjillings@1315 80 %
nickjillings@1315 81 % 1st. author
nickjillings@1315 82 \alignauthor Nicholas Jillings\textsuperscript{2}\\
nickjillings@1315 83 \email{nicholas.jillings@mail.bcu.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 84 % 2nd. author
nickjillings@1315 85 \alignauthor
nickjillings@1315 86 \alignauthor Brecht De Man\textsuperscript{1}\\
nickjillings@1315 87 \email{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 88 \and
nickjillings@1315 89 % use '\and' if you need 'another row' of author names
nickjillings@1315 90 % 3rd. author
nickjillings@1315 91 \alignauthor David Moffat\textsuperscript{1}\\
nickjillings@1315 92 \email{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 93 % 4th. author
nickjillings@1315 94 \alignauthor Joshua D. Reiss\textsuperscript{1}\\
nickjillings@1315 95 \email{joshua.reiss@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 96 \alignauthor Ryan Stables\textsuperscript{2}\\
nickjillings@1315 97 \email{ryan.stables@bcu.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 98 \and % new line for address
nickjillings@1315 99 \affaddr{Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science\textsuperscript{1}}\\
nickjillings@1315 100 \affaddr{Queen Mary University of London}\\
nickjillings@1315 101 \affaddr{Mile End Road,}
nickjillings@1315 102 \affaddr{London E1 4NS}\\
nickjillings@1315 103 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
nickjillings@1315 104 \and
nickjillings@1315 105 \affaddr{Digital Media Technology Lab\textsuperscript{2}}\\
nickjillings@1315 106 \affaddr{Birmingham City University}\\
nickjillings@1315 107 \affaddr{Birmingham B4 7XG}\\
nickjillings@1315 108 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
nickjillings@1315 109 }
nickjillings@1315 110 %Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
nickjillings@1315 111 %% 5th. author
nickjillings@1315 112 %\alignauthor Sean Fogarty\\
nickjillings@1315 113 % \affaddr{NASA Ames Research Center}\\
nickjillings@1315 114 % \affaddr{Moffett Field}\\
nickjillings@1315 115 % \email{fogartys@amesres.org}
nickjillings@1315 116 %% 6th. author
nickjillings@1315 117 %\alignauthor Charles Palmer\\
nickjillings@1315 118 % \affaddr{Palmer Research Laboratories}\\
nickjillings@1315 119 % \affaddr{8600 Datapoint Drive}\\
nickjillings@1315 120 % \email{cpalmer@prl.com}
nickjillings@1315 121 %}
nickjillings@1315 122 % There's nothing stopping you putting the seventh, eighth, etc.
nickjillings@1315 123 % author on the opening page (as the 'third row') but we ask,
nickjillings@1315 124 % for aesthetic reasons that you place these 'additional authors'
nickjillings@1315 125 % in the \additional authors block, viz.
nickjillings@1315 126 %\additionalauthors{Additional authors: John Smith (The Th{\o}rv{\"a}ld Group,
nickjillings@1315 127 %email: {\texttt{jsmith@affiliation.org}}) and Julius P.~Kumquat
nickjillings@1315 128 %(The Kumquat Consortium, email: {\texttt{jpkumquat@consortium.net}}).}
nickjillings@1315 129 \date{1 October 2015}
nickjillings@1315 130 % Just remember to make sure that the TOTAL number of authors
nickjillings@1315 131 % is the number that will appear on the first page PLUS the
nickjillings@1315 132 % number that will appear in the \additionalauthors section.
nickjillings@1315 133
nickjillings@1315 134 \maketitle
nickjillings@1315 135 \begin{abstract}
nickjillings@1315 136
nickjillings@1315 137 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@1315 138
nickjillings@1315 139 \end{abstract}
nickjillings@1315 140
nickjillings@1315 141
nickjillings@1315 142 \section{Introduction}
nickjillings@1315 143
nickjillings@1315 144 % Listening tests/perceptual audio evaluation: what are they, why are they important
nickjillings@1315 145 % 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@1315 146 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@1315 147 In less technical areas, the framework of a listening test can be used to measure emotional response to music or test cognitive abilities.
nickjillings@1315 148 % maybe some references? If there's space.
nickjillings@1315 149
nickjillings@1315 150 % check out http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-015-0270-8 - only paper that cited WAC15 paper
nickjillings@1315 151
nickjillings@1315 152 % Why difficult? Challenges? What constitutes a good interface?
nickjillings@1315 153 % Technical, interfaces, user friendliness, reliability
nickjillings@1315 154 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@1315 155
nickjillings@1315 156 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@1315 157
nickjillings@1315 158 % Why in the browser?
nickjillings@1315 159 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@1315 160
nickjillings@1315 161 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@1315 162
nickjillings@1315 163 % only browser-based?
nickjillings@1315 164 \begin{table*}[ht]
nickjillings@1315 165 \caption{Table with existing listening test platforms and their features}
nickjillings@1315 166 \small
nickjillings@1315 167 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1315 168 \begin{tabular}{|*{9}{l|}}
nickjillings@1315 169 \hline
nickjillings@1315 170 \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@1315 171 \textbf{Reference} & \cite{ape} & \cite{beaqlejs} & \cite{hultigen} & & \cite{mushram} & \cite{scale} & \cite{whisper} & \cite{waet} \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 172 \textbf{Language} & MATLAB & JS & MAX & JS & MATLAB & MATLAB & MATLAB & JS \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 173 \textbf{Remote} & & (\checkmark) & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline \hline
nickjillings@1315 174 MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534) & & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 175 APE & \checkmark & & & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 176 Rank Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 177 Likert Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 178 ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116) & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 179 -50 to 50 Bipolar with ref. & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 180 Absolute Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 181 Degradation Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 182 Comparison Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 183 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 184 ITU-R 5 Continuous Impairment Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 185 Pairwise / AB Test & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 186 Multi-attribute ratings & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 187 ABX Test & & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 188 Adaptive psychophysical methods & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 189 Repertory Grid Technique & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 190 Semantic Differential & & & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark &\checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 191 n-Alternative Forced Choice & & & & & & \checkmark & & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1315 192 \end{tabular}
nickjillings@1315 193 \end{center}
nickjillings@1315 194 \label{tab:toolboxes}
nickjillings@1315 195 \end{table*}
nickjillings@1315 196 %
nickjillings@1315 197 %Selling points: remote tests, visualisaton, create your own test in the browser, many interfaces, few/no dependencies, flexibility
nickjillings@1315 198
nickjillings@1315 199 %[Talking about what we do in the various sections of this paper. Referring to \cite{waet}. ]
nickjillings@1315 200 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@1315 201
nickjillings@1315 202 \begin{figure}[tb]
nickjillings@1315 203 \centering
nickjillings@1315 204 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{interface.png}
nickjillings@1315 205 \caption{A simple example of a multi-stimulus, single attribute, single rating scale test with a reference and comment fields.}
nickjillings@1315 206 \label{fig:interface}
nickjillings@1315 207 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1315 208
nickjillings@1315 209 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1315 210 % MEETING 8 OCTOBER
nickjillings@1315 211 \subsection{Meeting 8 October}
nickjillings@1315 212 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 213 \item Do we manipulate audio?\\
nickjillings@1315 214 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 215 \item Add loudness equalisation? (test\_create.html) Tag with gains.
nickjillings@1315 216 \item Add volume slider?
nickjillings@1315 217 \item Cross-fade (in interface node): default 0, number of seconds
nickjillings@1315 218 \item Also: we use the playback buffer to present metrics of which portion is listened to
nickjillings@1315 219 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 220 \item Logging system information: whichever are possible (justify others)
nickjillings@1315 221 \item Input streams as audioelements
nickjillings@1315 222 \item Capture microphone to estimate loudness (especially Macbook)
nickjillings@1315 223 \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@1315 224 \item Record IP address (PHP function, grab and append to XML file)
nickjillings@1315 225 \item Expand anchor/reference options
nickjillings@1315 226 \item AB / ABX
nickjillings@1315 227 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 228
nickjillings@1315 229 \subsubsection{Issues}
nickjillings@1315 230 \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 231 \item Filters not consistent (Nick to test across browsers)
nickjillings@1315 232 \item Playback audiobuffers need to be destroyed and rebuilt each time
nickjillings@1315 233 \item Can't get channel data, hardware input/output...
nickjillings@1315 234 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 235 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1315 236
nickjillings@1315 237 \section{Architecture} % title? 'back end'? % NICK
nickjillings@1315 238 \label{sec:architecture}
nickjillings@1315 239 %A slightly technical overview of the system. Talk about XML, JavaScript, Web Audio API, HTML5.
nickjillings@1315 240
nickjillings@1315 241 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@1315 242
nickjillings@1315 243 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@1315 244
nickjillings@1315 245 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@1315 246 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1315 247 \begin{figure}[h!]
nickjillings@1315 248 \centering
nickjillings@1315 249 \includegraphics[width=.45\textwidth]{test_create_2.png}
nickjillings@1315 250 \caption{Screen-shot of test creator tool using drag and drop to create specification document}
nickjillings@1315 251 \label{fig:test_create}
nickjillings@1315 252 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1315 253 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1315 254
nickjillings@1315 255 %Describe and/or visualise audioholder-audioelement-... structure.
nickjillings@1315 256 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@1315 257
nickjillings@1315 258 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@1315 259
nickjillings@1315 260 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@1315 261
nickjillings@1315 262 %Which type of files? WAV, anything else? Perhaps not exhaustive list, but say something along the lines of 'whatever browser supports'. Compatability?
nickjillings@1315 263 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@1315 264
nickjillings@1315 265 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@1315 266
nickjillings@1315 267 \section{Remote tests} % with previous?
nickjillings@1315 268 \label{sec:remote}
nickjillings@1315 269
nickjillings@1315 270 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@1315 271 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@1315 272
nickjillings@1315 273 The following features allow easy and effective remote testing:
nickjillings@1315 274 \begin{description}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 275 \item[PHP script to collect result XML files] and store on central server.
nickjillings@1315 276 \item[Randomly pick a specified number of pages] to ensure an equal and randomised spread of the different pages (`audioHolders') across participants.
nickjillings@1315 277 \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@1315 278 % In theory calibration could be applied anywhere??
nickjillings@1315 279 % \item Functionality to participate multiple times
nickjillings@1315 280 % \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 281 % \item Possible to log in with unique ID (no password)
nickjillings@1315 282 % \item Pick `new user' (generates new, unique ID) or `already participated' (need already available ID)
nickjillings@1315 283 % \item Store XML on server with IDs plus which audioholders have already been listened to
nickjillings@1315 284 % \item Don't show `post-test' survey after first time
nickjillings@1315 285 % \item Pick `new' audioholders if available
nickjillings@1315 286 % \item Copy survey information first time to new XMLs
nickjillings@1315 287 % \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 288 \item[Intermediate saves] for tests which were interrupted or unfinished.
nickjillings@1315 289 \item[Collect IP address information] for geographic location, through PHP function which grabs address and appends to XML file.
nickjillings@1315 290 \item[Collect Browser and Display information] to the extent it is available and reliable.
nickjillings@1315 291 \end{description}
nickjillings@1315 292
nickjillings@1315 293
nickjillings@1315 294 \section{Interfaces} % title? 'Front end'? % Dave
nickjillings@1315 295 \label{sec:interfaces}
nickjillings@1315 296
nickjillings@1315 297 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@1315 298
nickjillings@1315 299 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@1315 300 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 301 \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nickjillings@1315 302 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1315 303 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 304 \item Multiple stimuli are presented and rated on a continuous scale, which includes a reference, hidden reference and hidden anchors.
nickjillings@1315 305 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 306 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1315 307 \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}: stimuli ranked on single horizontal scale, where they are ordered in preference order.
nickjillings@1315 308 \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}: each stimuli has a five point scale with values: Strongly Agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly Disagree.
nickjillings@1315 309 \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@1315 310 \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@1315 311 \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: Likert but labels are Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
nickjillings@1315 312 \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@1315 313 \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@1315 314 \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@1315 315 \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}: Same as ABC/HR but with a reference.
nickjillings@1315 316 \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}: every stimulus is rated as being either better or worse than the reference.
nickjillings@1315 317 \item APE style \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli as points on a 2D plane for inter-sample rating (eg. Valence Arousal)
nickjillings@1315 318 \item AB Test~\cite{lipshitz1981great}: Two stimuli presented at a time, participant selects a preferred stimulus.
nickjillings@1315 319 \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@1315 320 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 321
nickjillings@1315 322 It is possible to include any number of references, anchors, hidden references and hidden anchors into all of these listening test formats.
nickjillings@1315 323
nickjillings@1315 324 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@1315 325
nickjillings@1315 326 %%%% \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 327 %%%% \item (APE style) \cite{ape}
nickjillings@1315 328 %%%% \item Multi attribute ratings
nickjillings@1315 329 %%%% \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nickjillings@1315 330 %%%% \item Interval Scale~\cite{zacharov1999round}
nickjillings@1315 331 %%%% \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}
nickjillings@1315 332 %%%%
nickjillings@1315 333 %%%% \item 2D Plane rating - e.g. Valence vs. Arousal~\cite{carroll1969individual}
nickjillings@1315 334 %%%% \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}
nickjillings@1315 335 %%%%
nickjillings@1315 336 %%%% \item {\bf All the following are the interfaces available in HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} }
nickjillings@1315 337 %%%% \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116}
nickjillings@1315 338 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 339 %%%% \item Continuous Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)
nickjillings@1315 340 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 341 %%%% \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref
nickjillings@1315 342 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 343 %%%% \item Scale -50 to 50 on Mushra with default values as 0 in middle and a comparison ``Reference'' to compare to 0 value
nickjillings@1315 344 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 345 %%%% \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1315 346 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 347 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent (Default fair?)
nickjillings@1315 348 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 349 %%%% \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1315 350 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 351 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Inaudible, Audible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?) - {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR?}
nickjillings@1315 352 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 353 %%%% \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
nickjillings@1315 354 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 355 %%%% \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@1315 356 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 357 %%%% \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}
nickjillings@1315 358 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 359 %%%% \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@1315 360 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 361 %%%% \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}
nickjillings@1315 362 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 363 %%%% \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@1315 364 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 365 %%%% \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}
nickjillings@1315 366 %%%% \begin{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 367 %%%% \item 2 point Scale - Better or Worse - (not sure how to default this - they default everything to better, which is an interesting choice)
nickjillings@1315 368 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 369 %%%% \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 370
nickjillings@1315 371 % Build your own test
nickjillings@1315 372
nickjillings@1315 373 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1315 374 { \bf A screenshot would be nice.
nickjillings@1315 375
nickjillings@1315 376 Established tests (see below) included as `presets' in the build-your-own-test page. }
nickjillings@1315 377 \end{comment}
nickjillings@1315 378
nickjillings@1315 379 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
nickjillings@1315 380 \label{sec:analysis}
nickjillings@1315 381 % don't mention Python scripts
nickjillings@1315 382 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@1315 383 \begin{figure}[bh]
nickjillings@1315 384 \centering
nickjillings@1315 385 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{boxplot.png}
nickjillings@1315 386 %\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@1315 387 \caption{Box and whisker plot showing the aggregated numerical ratings of six stimuli by a group of subjects.}
nickjillings@1315 388 \label{fig:timeline}
nickjillings@1315 389 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1315 390 For this reason, we include a proof-of-concept web page with:
nickjillings@1315 391 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
nickjillings@1315 392 \item All audioholder IDs, file names, subject IDs, audio element IDs, ... in the collected XMLs so far (\texttt{saves/*.xml})
nickjillings@1315 393 \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@1315 394 \item Embedded audio to hear corresponding test samples % (follow path in XML setup file, which is also embedded in the XML result file)
nickjillings@1315 395 \item Scatter plot, confidence plot and box plot of rating values (see Figure )
nickjillings@1315 396 \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@1315 397 \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@1315 398 \item All `comments' on a specific audioelement
nickjillings@1315 399 \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@1315 400 %\item Validation of setup XMLs (easily spot `errors', like duplicate IDs or URLs, missing/dangling tags, ...)
nickjillings@1315 401 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1315 402
nickjillings@1315 403
nickjillings@1315 404 %A subset of the above would already be nice for this paper.
nickjillings@1315 405 \section{Concluding remarks and future work}
nickjillings@1315 406 \label{sec:conclusion}
nickjillings@1315 407
nickjillings@1315 408 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@1315 409
nickjillings@1315 410 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@1315 411
nickjillings@1315 412 The code and documentation can be pulled or downloaded from our online repository available at \url{code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool}.
nickjillings@1315 413 % remote
nickjillings@1315 414 % language support (not explicitly stated)
nickjillings@1315 415 % crossfades
nickjillings@1315 416 % choosing speakers/sound device from within browser? --- NOT POSSIBLE, can only determine channel output counts and its up to the hardware to determine
nickjillings@1315 417 % collect information about software and sound system
nickjillings@1315 418 % buttons, scales, ... UI elements
nickjillings@1315 419 % must be able to load uncompressed PCM
nickjillings@1315 420
nickjillings@1315 421 %
nickjillings@1315 422 % The following two commands are all you need in the
nickjillings@1315 423 % initial runs of your .tex file to
nickjillings@1315 424 % produce the bibliography for the citations in your paper.
nickjillings@1315 425 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
nickjillings@1315 426 \small
nickjillings@1315 427 \bibliography{WAC2016} % sigproc.bib is the name of the Bibliography in this case
nickjillings@1315 428 % You must have a proper ".bib" file
nickjillings@1315 429 % and remember to run:
nickjillings@1315 430 % latex bibtex latex latex
nickjillings@1315 431 % to resolve all references
nickjillings@1315 432 %
nickjillings@1315 433 % ACM needs 'a single self-contained file'!
nickjillings@1315 434 %
nickjillings@1315 435 \end{document}