Knowledge Base

FaceReader With The Observer XT

Main Topics

• FaceReader in combination with The Observer XT
• Control FaceReader with The Observer XT using N-Linx
• Import FaceReader videos only
• Import multiple FaceReader analyses into the same observation
• How FaceReader data are imported into The Observer XT
• Visualize FaceReader data in The Observer XT
• The Observer XT sample projects with FaceReader data

FaceReader In Combination With The Observer XT

Integrating FaceReader data with other data may give you a more complete picture of the phenomena that you are studying. For instance, when testing your newly developed website, it may be interesting to know what emotions it evokes, but it may be even more intriguing to see at what part of the web site your test person is looking when his facial expressions are classified as 'happy' or 'surprised'. Manually logging the test person's verbal reactions or measuring his physiological responses makes the picture complete. For the integration of all these data, you can use The Observer XT.

You can let FaceReader record a video of the test participant's face and import FaceReader's log files together with the video into The Observer XT. You can then visualize the test person's facial expressions together with your observational data and calculate statistics. The procedure for co-acquiring and importing FaceReader data depends on whether you observe live or offline. If you observe live, the procedure depends on the version of The Observer XT.

IMPORTANT Make sure that FaceReader elements that are imported into The Observer XT do not already exist in the Coding Scheme of The Observer XT. Otherwise the FaceReader data will be assigned to the element that was already present in the Coding Scheme and your Observer data will be incorrect. Please be especially aware to not use the element names Unknown, or Neutral in the Coding Scheme of The Observer XT, since these names are used for the facial expressions.

Which Option Applies To You?

• Observe live in The Observer XT with the External Data Module
• Observe live in The Observer without the External Data Module
• Observe offline in The Observer XT

Observe Live In The Observer XT With The External Data Module

The Observer XT 13.0 and higher versions make use of the Noldus network communication protocol N-Linx to control FaceReader.

For details on N-Linx, see the Reference Manual - N-Linx. You can download it from the download section of the Noldus website.

To use this functionality, you need the External Data Module (EDM) of The Observer XT.

For the detailed procedure, see Control FaceReader with The Observer XT using N-Linx.

Observe Live In The Observer Without The External Data Module

If you do not have The External Data Module (EDM), you can set up The Observer XT to start and stop FaceReader analysis together with an observation. See Add a Custom External Device in The Observer XT Help for the procedure.

Observe Offline In The Observer XT

When you carry out offline observations in The Observer XT, you start and stop FaceReader analysis manually. Also you must export the data from FaceReader and import them together with the videos into The Observer XT manually.

Source: FaceReader 10 Reference Manual (Help), Noldus Information Technology