Impact of Different Active-Speech-Ratios on PESQ’s Predictions in Case of Independent and Dependent Losses (in Presence of Receiver-Side Comfort-Noise)

This paper deals with the investigation of PESQ’s behavior under independent and dependent loss conditions from an Active-Speech-Ratio perspective in presence of receiver-side comfort-noise. This reference signal characteristic is defined very broadly by ITU-T Recommendation P.862.3. That is the reason to investigate an impact of this characteristic on speech quality prediction more in-depth. We assess the variability of PESQ’s predictions with respect to Active-Speech-Ratios and loss conditions, as well as their accuracy, by comparing the predictions with subjective assessments. Our results show that an increase in amount of speech in the reference signal (expressed by the Active-Speech-Ratio characteristic) may result in an increase of the reference signal sensitivity to packet loss change. Interestingly, we have found two additional effects in this investigated case. The use of higher Active-Speech-Ratios may lead to negative shifting effect in MOS domain and also PESQ’s predictions accuracy declining. Predictions accuracy could be improved by higher packet losses

Subjective and Objective Assessment of Perceived Audio Quality of Current Digital Audio Broadcasting Systems and Web-Casting Applications

This paper investigates the impact of different audio codecs typically deployed in current digital audio broadcasting (DAB) systems and web-casting applications, which represent a main source of quality impairment in these systems and applications, on the quality perceived by the end user. Both subjective and objective assessments are used. Two different audio quality prediction models, namely Perceptual Evaluation of Audio Quality (PEAQ) and Perceptual Objective Listening Quality Assessment (POLQA) Music, are evaluated by comparing the predictions with subjectively obtained grades. The results show that the degradations introduced by the typical lossy audio codecs deployed in current DAB systems and web-casting applications operating at the lowest bit rate typically used in these distribution systems and applications seriously impact the subjective audio quality perceived by the end user. Furthermore, it is shown that a retrained POLQA Music provides the best overall correlations between predicted objective measurements and subjective scores allowing to predict the final perceived quality with good accuracy when scores are averaged over a small set of musical fragments ( \mathbf {R = 0.95} ). © 1963-12012 IEEE

The Combined Effect of Signal Strength and Background Traffic Load on Speech Quality in IEEE 802.11 WLAN

This paper deals with measurements of the combined effect of signal strength and background traffic load on speech quality in IEEE 802.11 WLAN. The ITU-T G.729AB encoding scheme is deployed in this study and the Distributed Internet Traffic Generator (D-ITG) is used for the purpose of background traffic generation. The speech quality and background traffic load are assessed by means of the accomplished PESQ algorithm and Wireshark network analyzer, respectively. The results show that background traffic load has a bit higher impact on speech quality than signal strength when both effects are available together. Moreover, background traffic load also partially masks the impact of signal strength. The reasons for those findings are particularly discussed. The results also suggest some implications for designers of wireless networks providing VoIP service

Impact of the duration of speech sequences on speech quality

This paper describes simulations of speech sequences transmission for intrusive measurement of voice transmission quality of service (VTQoS) in the environment of IP networks. The aim of the simulations was to investigate the impact of the different durations of speech sequences on speech quality from the jitter rate and packet loss point of view in IP networks. The ITU-T G.729 and ITU-T G.723.1 encoding schemes were used for the purpose of the simulations. The assessment of speech quality was realized by means of perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) algorithm. A comparison of the impact of different durations of speech sequences on speech quality and determination of the optimal duration of speech sequence for measurements of speech quality in telecommunication networks, is the aim of this paper

QoE management for future networks

This chapter discusses prospects of QoE management for future networks and applications. After motivating QoE management, it first provides an introduction to the concept by discussing its origins, key terms and giving an overview of the most relevant existing theoretical frameworks. Then, recent research on promising technical approaches to QoE-driven management that operate across different layers of the networking stack is discussed. Finally, the chapter provides conclusions and an outlook on the future of QoE management with a focus on those key enablers (including cooperation, business models and key technologies) that are essential for ultimately turning QoE-aware network and application management into reality. © The Author(s) 2018

Context monitoring for improved system performance and QoE

Whereas some application domains show a certain consensus on the role of system factors, human factors, and context factors, QoE management of multimedia systems and services is still faced with the challenge of identifying the key QoE influence factors. In this chapter, we focus on the potential of enhancing QoE management mechanisms by exploiting valuable context information. To get a good grip on the basics we first discuss a general framework for context monitoring and define context information, including technical, usage, social, economic, temporal, and physical factors. We then iterate the opportunities and challenges in involving context in QoE monitoring solutions, as context may be, e.g., hard to ascertain or very situational. The benefits of including context in QoE monitoring and management are demonstrated through use cases involving video flash crowds as well as online and cloud gaming. Finally, we discuss potential technical realizations of context-aware QoE monitoring and management derived based on the SDN paradigm. © The Author(s) 2018

State of the art of audio- and video-based solutions for AAL

It is a matter of fact that Europe is facing more and more crucial challenges regarding health and social care due to the demographic change and the current economic context. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has stressed this situation even further, thus highlighting the need for taking action. Active and Assisted Living (AAL) technologies come as a viable approach to help facing these challenges, thanks to the high potential they have in enabling remote care and support. Broadly speaking, AAL can be referred to as the use of innovative and advanced Information and Communication Technologies to create supportive, inclusive and empowering applications and environments that enable older, impaired or frail people to live independently and stay active longer in society. AAL capitalizes on the growing pervasiveness and effectiveness of sensing and computing facilities to supply the persons in need with smart assistance, by responding to their necessities of autonomy, independence, comfort, security and safety. The application scenarios addressed by AAL are complex, due to the inherent heterogeneity of the end-user population, their living arrangements, and their physical conditions or impairment. Despite aiming at diverse goals, AAL systems should share some common characteristics. They are designed to provide support in daily life in an invisible, unobtrusive and user-friendly manner. Moreover, they are conceived to be intelligent, to be able to learn and adapt to the requirements and requests of the assisted people, and to synchronise with their specific needs. Nevertheless, to ensure the uptake of AAL in society, potential users must be willing to use AAL applications and to integrate them in their daily environments and lives. In this respect, video- and audio-based AAL applications have several advantages, in terms of unobtrusiveness and information richness. Indeed, cameras and microphones are far less obtrusive with respect to the hindrance other wearable sensors may cause to one’s activities. In addition, a single camera placed in a room can record most of the activities performed in the room, thus replacing many other non-visual sensors. Currently, video-based applications are effective in recognising and monitoring the activities, the movements, and the overall conditions of the assisted individuals as well as to assess their vital parameters (e.g., heart rate, respiratory rate). Similarly, audio sensors have the potential to become one of the most important modalities for interaction with AAL systems, as they can have a large range of sensing, do not require physical presence at a particular location and are physically intangible. Moreover, relevant information about individuals’ activities and health status can derive from processing audio signals (e.g., speech recordings). Nevertheless, as the other side of the coin, cameras and microphones are often perceived as the most intrusive technologies from the viewpoint of the privacy of the monitored individuals. This is due to the richness of the information these technologies convey and the intimate setting where they may be deployed. Solutions able to ensure privacy preservation by context and by design, as well as to ensure high legal and ethical standards are in high demand. After the review of the current state of play and the discussion in GoodBrother, we may claim that the first solutions in this direction are starting to appear in the literature. A multidisciplinary debate among experts and stakeholders is paving the way towards AAL ensuring ergonomics, usability, acceptance and privacy preservation. The DIANA, PAAL, and VisuAAL projects are examples of this fresh approach. This report provides the reader with a review of the most recent advances in audio- and video-based monitoring technologies for AAL. It has been drafted as a collective effort of WG3 to supply an introduction to AAL, its evolution over time and its main functional and technological underpinnings. In this respect, the report contributes to the field with the outline of a new generation of ethical-aware AAL technologies and a proposal for a novel comprehensive taxonomy of AAL systems and applications. Moreover, the report allows non-technical readers to gather an overview of the main components of an AAL system and how these function and interact with the end-users. The report illustrates the state of the art of the most successful AAL applications and functions based on audio and video data, namely (i) lifelogging and self-monitoring, (ii) remote monitoring of vital signs, (iii) emotional state recognition, (iv) food intake monitoring, activity and behaviour recognition, (v) activity and personal assistance, (vi) gesture recognition, (vii) fall detection and prevention, (viii) mobility assessment and frailty recognition, and (ix) cognitive and motor rehabilitation. For these application scenarios, the report illustrates the state of play in terms of scientific advances, available products and research project. The open challenges are also highlighted. The report ends with an overview of the challenges, the hindrances and the opportunities posed by the uptake in real world settings of AAL technologies. In this respect, the report illustrates the current procedural and technological approaches to cope with acceptability, usability and trust in the AAL technology, by surveying strategies and approaches to co-design, to privacy preservation in video and audio data, to transparency and explainability in data processing, and to data transmission and communication. User acceptance and ethical considerations are also debated. Finally, the potentials coming from the silver economy are overviewed.peer-reviewe