annotate docs/WAC2016/WAC2016.tex @ 3141:335bc77627e0 tip

fixing discrete interface to allow labels to display
author Dave Moffat <me@davemoffat.com>
date Mon, 26 Jul 2021 12:15:24 +0100
parents 686f1fb84d7c
children
rev   line source
b@1481 1 \documentclass{sig-alternate}
b@1950 2 \usepackage{hyperref} % make links (like references, links to Sections, ...) clickable
b@1950 3 \usepackage{enumitem} % tighten itemize etc by appending '[noitemsep,nolistsep]'
me@1952 4 \usepackage{cleveref}
b@1481 5
b@1479 6 \graphicspath{{img/}} % put the images in this folder
b@1479 7
b@1481 8 \begin{document}
b@1481 9
b@1481 10 % Copyright
b@1481 11 \setcopyright{waclicense}
b@1481 12
nickjillings@2144 13 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA.}
nickjillings@2144 14 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
nickjillings@2144 15
nickjillings@1963 16 \newcommand*\rot{\rotatebox{90}}
nickjillings@1963 17
b@1481 18
b@2141 19 % Make clickable footnote (Brecht)
b@2141 20 \newcommand{\hyperfootnote}[1][]{\def\ArgI{{#1}}\hyperfootnoteRelay}
b@2141 21 % relay to new command to make extra optional command possible
b@2141 22 \newcommand\hyperfootnoteRelay[2][]{\href{#1#2}{\ArgI}\footnote{\href{#1#2}{#2}}}
b@2141 23 % the first optional argument is now in \ArgI, the second is in #1
b@2141 24
b@2141 25 % Takes at most 3 parameters (see http://www.tex.ac.uk/FAQ-twooptarg.html for info on multiple optional parameters)
b@2141 26 % If first parameter isn't given, it's value is '' (empty string in text before footnote reference)
b@2141 27 % If second parameter isn't given, it's value is '' (string before visible URL, e.g. 'http://')
b@2141 28 % Makes a clickable footnote (alternatively: \url{}) with optional reference in the text as well
b@2141 29 % Use 1: \hyperfootnote{www.mywebsite.com}: creates a footnote consisting of a clickable URL
b@2141 30 % Use 2: \hyperfootnote[My website]{www.mywebsite.com}: creates a clickable piece of text in the text ('My website') plus a footnote consisting of a clickable URL
b@2141 31 % Note: requires the hyperref package.
b@2141 32 % Note: using xspace package to add/absorb spaces when necessary (e.g. to avoid a space between the footnote number and a punctuation mark)
b@2141 33
b@1481 34 %% DOI
b@1481 35 %\doi{10.475/123_4}
b@1481 36 %
b@1481 37 %% ISBN
b@1481 38 %\isbn{123-4567-24-567/08/06}
b@1481 39 %
b@1481 40 %%Conference
b@1481 41 %\conferenceinfo{PLDI '13}{June 16--19, 2013, Seattle, WA, USA}
b@1481 42 %
b@1481 43 %\acmPrice{\$15.00}
b@1481 44
b@1481 45 %
b@1481 46 % --- Author Metadata here ---
b@1481 47 \conferenceinfo{Web Audio Conference WAC-2016,}{April 4--6, 2016, Atlanta, USA}
b@1481 48 \CopyrightYear{2016} % Allows default copyright year (20XX) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
b@1481 49 %\crdata{0-12345-67-8/90/01} % Allows default copyright data (0-89791-88-6/97/05) to be over-ridden - IF NEED BE.
b@1481 50 % --- End of Author Metadata ---
b@1481 51
b@1951 52 \title{Web Audio Evaluation Tool: A framework for subjective assessment of audio}
b@1481 53 %\subtitle{[Extended Abstract]
b@1481 54 %\titlenote{A full version of this paper is available as
b@1481 55 %\textit{Author's Guide to Preparing ACM SIG Proceedings Using
b@1481 56 %\LaTeX$2_\epsilon$\ and BibTeX} at
b@1481 57 %\texttt{www.acm.org/eaddress.htm}}}
b@1481 58 %
b@1481 59 % You need the command \numberofauthors to handle the 'placement
b@1481 60 % and alignment' of the authors beneath the title.
b@1481 61 %
b@1481 62 % For aesthetic reasons, we recommend 'three authors at a time'
b@1481 63 % i.e. three 'name/affiliation blocks' be placed beneath the title.
b@1481 64 %
b@1481 65 % NOTE: You are NOT restricted in how many 'rows' of
b@1481 66 % "name/affiliations" may appear. We just ask that you restrict
b@1481 67 % the number of 'columns' to three.
b@1481 68 %
b@1481 69 % Because of the available 'opening page real-estate'
b@1481 70 % we ask you to refrain from putting more than six authors
b@1481 71 % (two rows with three columns) beneath the article title.
b@1481 72 % More than six makes the first-page appear very cluttered indeed.
b@1481 73 %
b@1481 74 % Use the \alignauthor commands to handle the names
b@1481 75 % and affiliations for an 'aesthetic maximum' of six authors.
b@1481 76 % Add names, affiliations, addresses for
b@1481 77 % the seventh etc. author(s) as the argument for the
b@1481 78 % \additionalauthors command.
b@1481 79 % These 'additional authors' will be output/set for you
b@1481 80 % without further effort on your part as the last section in
b@1481 81 % the body of your article BEFORE References or any Appendices.
b@1481 82
b@1948 83 % FIVE authors instead of four, to leave space between first two authors.
nickjillings@1315 84 \numberofauthors{6} % in this sample file, there are a *total*
b@1481 85 % of EIGHT authors. SIX appear on the 'first-page' (for formatting
b@1481 86 % reasons) and the remaining two appear in the \additionalauthors section.
b@1481 87 %
b@1481 88 \author{
b@1481 89 % You can go ahead and credit any number of authors here,
b@1481 90 % e.g. one 'row of three' or two rows (consisting of one row of three
b@1481 91 % and a second row of one, two or three).
b@1481 92 %
b@1481 93 % The command \alignauthor (no curly braces needed) should
b@1481 94 % precede each author name, affiliation/snail-mail address and
b@1481 95 % e-mail address. Additionally, tag each line of
b@1481 96 % affiliation/address with \affaddr, and tag the
b@1481 97 % e-mail address with \email.
b@1481 98 %
b@1481 99 % 1st. author
nickjillings@1315 100 \alignauthor Nicholas Jillings\textsuperscript{2}\\
nickjillings@2102 101 \email{nicholas.jillings@mail.bcu.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 102 % 2nd. author
nickjillings@2102 103 \alignauthor
nickjillings@1315 104 \alignauthor Brecht De Man\textsuperscript{1}\\
nickjillings@1315 105 \email{b.deman@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@2102 106 \and
nickjillings@2102 107 % use '\and' if you need 'another row' of author names
b@1481 108 % 3rd. author
nickjillings@1315 109 \alignauthor David Moffat\textsuperscript{1}\\
b@1481 110 \email{d.j.moffat@qmul.ac.uk}
b@1481 111 % 4th. author
nickjillings@1315 112 \alignauthor Joshua D. Reiss\textsuperscript{1}\\
b@1481 113 \email{joshua.reiss@qmul.ac.uk}
nickjillings@1315 114 \alignauthor Ryan Stables\textsuperscript{2}\\
nickjillings@1315 115 \email{ryan.stables@bcu.ac.uk}
b@1948 116 \and % new line for address
nickjillings@1315 117 \affaddr{Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science\textsuperscript{1}}\\
b@1481 118 \affaddr{Queen Mary University of London}\\
b@1481 119 \affaddr{Mile End Road,}
b@1481 120 \affaddr{London E1 4NS}\\
b@1481 121 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
nickjillings@1315 122 \and
nickjillings@1315 123 \affaddr{Digital Media Technology Lab\textsuperscript{2}}\\
nickjillings@1315 124 \affaddr{Birmingham City University}\\
nickjillings@1315 125 \affaddr{Birmingham B4 7XG}\\
nickjillings@1315 126 \affaddr{United Kingdom}\\
b@1481 127 }
b@1481 128 %Centre for Digital Music, School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
b@1481 129 %% 5th. author
b@1481 130 %\alignauthor Sean Fogarty\\
b@1481 131 % \affaddr{NASA Ames Research Center}\\
b@1481 132 % \affaddr{Moffett Field}\\
b@1481 133 % \email{fogartys@amesres.org}
b@1481 134 %% 6th. author
b@1481 135 %\alignauthor Charles Palmer\\
b@1481 136 % \affaddr{Palmer Research Laboratories}\\
b@1481 137 % \affaddr{8600 Datapoint Drive}\\
b@1481 138 % \email{cpalmer@prl.com}
b@1481 139 %}
b@1481 140 % There's nothing stopping you putting the seventh, eighth, etc.
b@1481 141 % author on the opening page (as the 'third row') but we ask,
b@1481 142 % for aesthetic reasons that you place these 'additional authors'
b@1481 143 % in the \additional authors block, viz.
b@1481 144 %\additionalauthors{Additional authors: John Smith (The Th{\o}rv{\"a}ld Group,
b@1481 145 %email: {\texttt{jsmith@affiliation.org}}) and Julius P.~Kumquat
b@1481 146 %(The Kumquat Consortium, email: {\texttt{jpkumquat@consortium.net}}).}
b@1481 147 \date{1 October 2015}
b@1481 148 % Just remember to make sure that the TOTAL number of authors
b@1481 149 % is the number that will appear on the first page PLUS the
b@1481 150 % number that will appear in the \additionalauthors section.
b@1481 151
b@1481 152 \maketitle
b@1481 153 \begin{abstract}
b@2141 154 Perceptual listening tests are commonplace in audio research and a vital form of evaluation. % ?
b@2141 155 While a large number of tools exist to run such tests, many feature just one test type, are platform dependent, run on proprietary software, or require considerable configuration and programming. 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.
b@1481 156 \end{abstract}
b@1481 157
b@1481 158
b@1481 159 \section{Introduction}
b@1949 160
b@1949 161 % Listening tests/perceptual audio evaluation: what are they, why are they important
b@1949 162 % As opposed to limited scope of WAC15 paper: also musical features, realism of sound effects / sound synthesis, performance of source separation and other algorithms...
b@2141 163 Perceptual evaluation of audio, using listening tests, is a powerful way to assess anything from audio codec quality over realism of sound synthesis to the performance of source separation, automated music production and other auditory evaluations.
b@1479 164 In less technical areas, the framework of a listening test can be used to measure emotional response to music or test cognitive abilities.
b@1479 165 % maybe some references? If there's space.
b@1949 166
b@1950 167 % check out http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10055-015-0270-8 - only paper that cited WAC15 paper
b@1950 168
nickjillings@1957 169 % Why difficult? Challenges? What constitutes a good interface?
nickjillings@1957 170 % Technical, interfaces, user friendliness, reliability
b@2141 171 Several applications for performing perceptual listening tests currently exist, see~\Cref{tab:toolboxes}. Many rely on proprietary, third 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@1968 172
b@2141 173 HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} is an example of a toolbox that presents the user with a large number of different test interfaces and customisation, without requiring knowledge of any programming language. The Web Audio Evaluation Toolbox (WAET), presented here, stands out for the same reasons but in addition 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}.
b@1949 174
b@1949 175 % Why in the browser?
nickjillings@2139 176 The Web Audio API provides important features including sample level manipulation of audio streams \cite{schoeffler2015mushra} and synchronous and flexible playback. Operating in the browser allows leveraging the flexible 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 simultaneously \cite{schoeffler2015mushra}.
b@1479 177
b@2141 178 Both BeaqleJS \cite{beaqlejs} and \hyperfootnote[mushraJS][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?...
b@1948 179
b@1948 180 % only browser-based?
me@1952 181 \begin{table*}[ht]
nickjillings@1961 182 \caption{Table with existing listening test platforms and their features}
nickjillings@1963 183 \small
nickjillings@1961 184 \begin{center}
nickjillings@1963 185 \begin{tabular}{|*{9}{l|}}
nickjillings@1961 186 \hline
nickjillings@1963 187 \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@1963 188 \textbf{Reference} & \cite{ape} & \cite{beaqlejs} & \cite{hultigen} & & \cite{mushram} & \cite{scale} & \cite{whisper} & \cite{waet} \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 189 \textbf{Language} & MATLAB & JS & MAX & JS & MATLAB & MATLAB & MATLAB & JS \\ \hline
b@1967 190 \textbf{Remote} & & (\checkmark) & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline \hline
nickjillings@1963 191 MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534) & & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 192 APE & \checkmark & & & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 193 Rank Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 194 Likert Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 195 ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116) & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 196 -50 to 50 Bipolar with ref. & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 197 Absolute Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1968 198 Degradation Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 199 Comparison Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 200 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 201 ITU-R 5 Continuous Impairment Scale & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 202 Pairwise / AB Test & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 203 Multi-attribute ratings & & & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 204 ABX Test & & \checkmark & \checkmark & & & & & \checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 205 Adaptive psychophysical methods & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 206 Repertory Grid Technique & & & & & & & \checkmark & \\ \hline
b@1967 207 Semantic Differential & & & & & & \checkmark & \checkmark &\checkmark \\ \hline
nickjillings@1963 208 n-Alternative Forced Choice & & & & & & \checkmark & & \\ \hline
nickjillings@1961 209 \end{tabular}
nickjillings@1961 210 \end{center}
b@2141 211 \vspace{-.5cm}
nickjillings@1961 212 \label{tab:toolboxes}
nickjillings@1963 213 \end{table*}
b@2141 214
b@1948 215 %
nickjillings@1957 216 %Selling points: remote tests, visualisaton, create your own test in the browser, many interfaces, few/no dependencies, flexibility
b@1949 217
nickjillings@1958 218 %[Talking about what we do in the various sections of this paper. Referring to \cite{waet}. ]
nickjillings@2139 219 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 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.
b@1967 220
b@1478 221 \begin{figure}[tb]
b@1478 222 \centering
b@1478 223 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{interface.png}
b@1478 224 \caption{A simple example of a multi-stimulus, single attribute, single rating scale test with a reference and comment fields.}
b@1478 225 \label{fig:interface}
b@1478 226 \end{figure}
b@1478 227
nickjillings@1957 228 \begin{comment}
b@1951 229 % MEETING 8 OCTOBER
b@1951 230 \subsection{Meeting 8 October}
b@1951 231 \begin{itemize}
b@1951 232 \item Do we manipulate audio?\\
b@1951 233 \begin{itemize}
b@1951 234 \item Add loudness equalisation? (test\_create.html) Tag with gains.
b@1951 235 \item Add volume slider?
b@1951 236 \item Cross-fade (in interface node): default 0, number of seconds
b@1951 237 \item Also: we use the playback buffer to present metrics of which portion is listened to
b@1951 238 \end{itemize}
b@1951 239 \item Logging system information: whichever are possible (justify others)
b@1951 240 \item Input streams as audioelements
b@1951 241 \item Capture microphone to estimate loudness (especially Macbook)
b@1951 242 \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!
b@1951 243 \item Record IP address (PHP function, grab and append to XML file)
b@1951 244 \item Expand anchor/reference options
b@1951 245 \item AB / ABX
b@1951 246 \end{itemize}
b@1951 247
b@1951 248 \subsubsection{Issues}
b@1951 249 \begin{itemize}
b@1951 250 \item Filters not consistent (Nick to test across browsers)
b@1951 251 \item Playback audiobuffers need to be destroyed and rebuilt each time
b@1951 252 \item Can't get channel data, hardware input/output...
b@1951 253 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1957 254 \end{comment}
b@1948 255
b@1949 256 \section{Architecture} % title? 'back end'? % NICK
nickjillings@1961 257 \label{sec:architecture}
nickjillings@1958 258 %A slightly technical overview of the system. Talk about XML, JavaScript, Web Audio API, HTML5.
b@1479 259
nickjillings@1968 260 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@1953 261
b@2141 262 One of the key initial design parameters for WAET was to make the tool as open as possible to non-programmers. To this end, all of the user modifiable options are included in a single XML document, referred to as the specification document, that can be written manually (or modifying an existing document or template) or using the included test creator. The test creator can modify existing specification documents or generate new ones in an intuitive yet powerful HTML GUI. This simplifies the creation of elements by visualising the data structure with explanatory text.
nickjillings@1953 263
nickjillings@1958 264 %Describe and/or visualise audioholder-audioelement-... structure.
b@2141 265 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 LUFS integrated loudness of the buffers are calculated \cite{loudness201510} and stored to enable on-the-fly loudness normalisation. If the playback uses synchronous looping, the buffers are zero-padded accordingly. Performing these in the browser removes any need for pre-processing. The resulting buffers are assigned to a custom Audio Objects node which tracks the fragment buffer, the Web Audio \textit{bufferSourceNode}, and other specification attributes including its 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 Engine node allowing for session wide control of the Audio Objects.
nickjillings@1953 266
b@2141 267 The only significant issue with this model is the \textit{bufferNode} in the Web Audio API, implemented in the standard as a `use once' object. Once the node has been played, it must be discarded as it cannot be instructed to play again. Therefore on each play request the \textit{bufferSourceNode} must be created and then linked with the stored \textit{bufferNode}. This is an odd behaviour with no alternative except to use the HTML5 audio element, but they do not have the ability to synchronously start on a given time and therefore not suited.
b@1479 268
b@2141 269 In the test, each buffer node is connected to a gain node configured by the loudness normalisation and any user specified gain. 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 followed by a fade-in, or a true cross-fade. This is achieved by using the AudioParam controls to provide linear ramping from 0 to the calculated playback level. There is also an optional `Master Volume' slider which can be shown on the test GUI to modify a gain node before the destination. The control's position is tracked providing extra test use validation. This is not indicative of the final volume exiting the speakers, though, not least because the browser cannot read the system volume. Therefore its use should only be considered in a lab environment to ensure results are representative.
nickjillings@1953 270
nickjillings@1958 271 %Which type of files? WAV, anything else? Perhaps not exhaustive list, but say something along the lines of 'whatever browser supports'. Compatability?
b@2141 272 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. Most browsers support floating point WAV except Firefox. To resolve this, the tool includes its own wave file decoder to extract the samples. The toolbox works in any browser which supports the Web Audio API and HTML 5.
nickjillings@1953 273
b@2141 274 All 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 interface-specific data points.
nickjillings@1953 275
b@1948 276 \section{Remote tests} % with previous?
b@1479 277 \label{sec:remote}
b@1949 278
nickjillings@2139 279 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. 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 the range of metrics logged 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.
b@1949 280 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.
b@1949 281
b@1947 282 The following features allow easy and effective remote testing:
b@2141 283 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep] % replaced description list with itemize as it went outside the margins
b@2141 284 \item \textbf{PHP script to collect result XML files} and store on central server.
b@2141 285 \item \textbf{Randomly pick a specified number of pages} to ensure an equal and randomised spread of the different pages across participants.
b@2141 286 \item \textbf{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@1953 287 % In theory calibration could be applied anywhere??
b@1479 288 % \item Functionality to participate multiple times
b@1479 289 % \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
b@1479 290 % \item Possible to log in with unique ID (no password)
b@1479 291 % \item Pick `new user' (generates new, unique ID) or `already participated' (need already available ID)
b@1479 292 % \item Store XML on server with IDs plus which audioholders have already been listened to
b@1479 293 % \item Don't show `post-test' survey after first time
b@1479 294 % \item Pick `new' audioholders if available
b@1479 295 % \item Copy survey information first time to new XMLs
b@1479 296 % \end{itemize}
b@2141 297 \item \textbf{Intermediate saves} for tests which were interrupted or unfinished.
b@2141 298 \item \textbf{Collect IP address information} for geographic location, through PHP function which grabs address and appends to XML file.
b@2141 299 \item \textbf{Collect browser and display information} to the extent it is available and reliable.
b@2141 300 \end{itemize}
b@1947 301
b@1481 302
b@1948 303 \section{Interfaces} % title? 'Front end'? % Dave
b@1479 304 \label{sec:interfaces}
me@1952 305
b@2141 306 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, including
me@1952 307 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
b@2141 308 \item AB Test~\cite{lipshitz1981great}: Two stimuli presented simultaneously, participant selects a preferred stimulus.
b@2141 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@2139 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@2139 311 \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: Likert but labels are Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent
nickjillings@2139 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@2142 313 \item APE \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli on one or more axes for inter-sample rating.
nickjillings@2142 314 %\item APE style 2D \cite{ape}: Multiple stimuli on a 2D plane for inter-sample rating (e.g. Valence Arousal).
b@2141 315 \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}: ACR \& DCR but 7 point scale, with reference: Much better, Better, Slightly better, About the same, Slightly worse, Worse, Much worse.
b@2141 316 \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@2139 317 \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}: Same as ABC/HR but with a reference.
b@2141 318 \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}: each stimulus has a five point scale with values: Strongly agree, Agree, Neutral, Disagree and Strongly disagree.
b@2141 319 \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
nickjillings@1968 320 \begin{comment}
nickjillings@1959 321 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
me@1952 322 \item Multiple stimuli are presented and rated on a continuous scale, which includes a reference, hidden reference and hidden anchors.
me@1952 323 \end{itemize}
nickjillings@1968 324 \end{comment}
nickjillings@2139 325 \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}: every stimulus is rated as being either better or worse than the reference.
nickjillings@1968 326 \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}: stimuli ranked on single horizontal scale, where they are ordered in preference order.
b@2141 327 \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}: each stimulus 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.
me@1952 328 \end{itemize}
me@1952 329
b@2141 330 It is possible to include any number of references, hidden references, hidden anchors and comment fields into all of these listening test formats.
me@1952 331
b@2141 332 Because of the design to have separate core code and interface modules, it is possible for a third party interface to be built with minimal effort. The repository includes a boilerplate (blank.js) and 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@1955 333
me@1952 334 %%%% \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
me@1952 335 %%%% \item (APE style) \cite{ape}
me@1952 336 %%%% \item Multi attribute ratings
me@1952 337 %%%% \item MUSHRA (ITU-R BS. 1534)~\cite{recommendation20031534}
me@1952 338 %%%% \item Interval Scale~\cite{zacharov1999round}
me@1952 339 %%%% \item Rank Scale~\cite{pascoe1983evaluation}
me@1952 340 %%%%
me@1952 341 %%%% \item 2D Plane rating - e.g. Valence vs. Arousal~\cite{carroll1969individual}
me@1952 342 %%%% \item Likert scale~\cite{likert1932technique}
me@1952 343 %%%%
me@1952 344 %%%% \item {\bf All the following are the interfaces available in HULTI-GEN~\cite{hultigen} }
me@1952 345 %%%% \item ABC/HR (ITU-R BS. 1116)~\cite{recommendation19971116}
me@1952 346 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 347 %%%% \item Continuous Scale (5-1) Imperceptible, Perceptible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?)
me@1952 348 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 349 %%%% \item -50 to 50 Bipolar with Ref
me@1952 350 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 351 %%%% \item Scale -50 to 50 on Mushra with default values as 0 in middle and a comparison ``Reference'' to compare to 0 value
me@1952 352 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 353 %%%% \item Absolute Category Rating (ACR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
me@1952 354 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 355 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Bad, Poor, Fair, Good, Excellent (Default fair?)
me@1952 356 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 357 %%%% \item Degredation Category Rating (DCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
me@1952 358 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 359 %%%% \item 5 point Scale - Inaudible, Audible but not annoying, slightly annoying, annoying, very annoying. (default Inaudible?) - {\it Basically just quantised ABC/HR?}
me@1952 360 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 361 %%%% \item Comparison Category Rating (CCR) Scale~\cite{rec1996p}
me@1952 362 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 363 %%%% \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
me@1952 364 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 365 %%%% \item 9 Point Hedonic Category Rating Scale~\cite{peryam1952advanced}
me@1952 366 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 367 %%%% \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
me@1952 368 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 369 %%%% \item ITU-R 5 Point Continuous Impairment Scale~\cite{rec1997bs}
me@1952 370 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 371 %%%% \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}
me@1952 372 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 373 %%%% \item Pairwise Comparison (Better/Worse)~\cite{david1963method}
me@1952 374 %%%% \begin{itemize}
me@1952 375 %%%% \item 2 point Scale - Better or Worse - (not sure how to default this - they default everything to better, which is an interesting choice)
me@1952 376 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 377 %%%% \end{itemize}
me@1952 378
nickjillings@1955 379 % Build your own test
nickjillings@1966 380
nickjillings@1957 381 \begin{comment}
me@1952 382 { \bf A screenshot would be nice.
me@1952 383
me@1952 384 Established tests (see below) included as `presets' in the build-your-own-test page. }
nickjillings@1957 385 \end{comment}
b@1481 386
b@1481 387 \section{Analysis and diagnostics}
b@1479 388 \label{sec:analysis}
b@1949 389 % don't mention Python scripts
b@1479 390 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.
b@2141 391
b@1479 392 For this reason, we include a proof-of-concept web page with:
b@1950 393 \begin{itemize}[noitemsep,nolistsep]
b@2141 394 \item All page IDs, file names, subject IDs, audio element IDs, ... in the collected XMLs so far
b@1479 395 \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)
b@1479 396 \item Embedded audio to hear corresponding test samples % (follow path in XML setup file, which is also embedded in the XML result file)
b@2141 397 \item Scatter plot, confidence plot and box plot of rating values (see Figure \ref{fig:boxplot})
nickjillings@1961 398 \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@1961 399 \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)
b@1479 400 \item All `comments' on a specific audioelement
nickjillings@1961 401 \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@1961 402 %\item Validation of setup XMLs (easily spot `errors', like duplicate IDs or URLs, missing/dangling tags, ...)
b@1945 403 \end{itemize}
b@1945 404
b@2141 405 \begin{figure}[tbh]
b@2141 406 \centering
b@2141 407 \includegraphics[width=.5\textwidth]{boxplot.png}
b@2141 408 %\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. }
b@2141 409 \caption{Box and whisker plot showing the aggregated numerical ratings of six stimuli by a group of subjects.}
b@2141 410 \label{fig:boxplot}
b@2141 411 \end{figure}
nickjillings@1961 412
nickjillings@1958 413 %A subset of the above would already be nice for this paper.
b@2141 414 \section{Concluding remarks}
b@1479 415 \label{sec:conclusion}
b@1967 416
nickjillings@2139 417 We have developed a browser-based tool for the design and deployment of listening tests, requiring no programming experience or proprietary 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.
b@1967 418
b@2141 419 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 intuitive creation of non-adaptive listening tests 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, and many standard test `presets' already available.
b@1945 420
b@2141 421 The code and documentation can be downloaded from the \hyperfootnote[SoundSoftware repository][https://]{code.soundsoftware.ac.uk/projects/webaudioevaluationtool}.
b@1949 422 % remote
b@1949 423 % language support (not explicitly stated)
b@1949 424 % crossfades
nickjillings@1956 425 % choosing speakers/sound device from within browser? --- NOT POSSIBLE, can only determine channel output counts and its up to the hardware to determine
b@1949 426 % collect information about software and sound system
b@1949 427 % buttons, scales, ... UI elements
b@1949 428 % must be able to load uncompressed PCM
b@1949 429
b@1481 430 %
b@1481 431 % The following two commands are all you need in the
b@1481 432 % initial runs of your .tex file to
b@1481 433 % produce the bibliography for the citations in your paper.
nickjillings@1966 434 \bibliographystyle{ieeetr}
nickjillings@1968 435 \small
b@1481 436 \bibliography{WAC2016} % sigproc.bib is the name of the Bibliography in this case
b@1481 437 % You must have a proper ".bib" file
b@1481 438 % and remember to run:
b@1481 439 % latex bibtex latex latex
b@1481 440 % to resolve all references
b@1481 441 %
b@1481 442 % ACM needs 'a single self-contained file'!
b@1481 443 %
b@1481 444 \end{document}