System for managing the procedure of a public competition and method of operation of the system

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system (S) for managing the procedure of a public competition that comprises carrying out at least one test by at least one candidate (C), the system comprising at least one main control logic unit (1) which is usable by an operator, in which the data related to the test are contained, comprising at least one remote platform (2), which is operatively connected to said at least one main control logic unit (1), in which the programs and applications for carrying out the test are stored, and a virtual-reality device (3), which is operatively connected to said remote platform (2) and usable by said at least one candidate (C) for carrying out said at least one test, based on the data received from said remote platform (2). The present invention also relates to a method of operation of the system.

Description

[0001] Title: System for managing the procedure of a public competition and method of operation of the system

[0002] DESCRIPTION

[0003] Field of application

[0004] The present invention relates to a system for managing the procedure of a public competition.

[0005] The present invention also relates to the method of operation of the system.

[0006] More in detail, the invention regards a system of the above-mentioned type, that is in particular studied and made to manage operations of carrying out tests that are suitable for passing public competition or even public selections, through the use of virtual-reality visors.

[0007] Hereafter, the description will refer to a system for managing a selection of a competitive exam in the health-care field, in particular in the nursing field, by using a virtual-reality visor to virtually position electrodes on the body of a patient for the acquisition of an electrocardiogram or ECG, but it is clear that this method is not limited to this specific use.

[0008] Prior art

[0009] It is currently known that a public competition consists of a set of procedures and tests that, once passed, allow to reach a job position within a public body.

[0010] The tests may be carried out both in presence in a predetermined location and remotely.

[0011] Usually, the tests are carried out in written, oral, and practical manners.

[0012] With particular reference to the tests for competitive exams in the healthcare field, it is often required that the candidate takes a practical test concerning specific tasks that the health-care professionals carry out during daily activities.

[0013] A necessary requirement for evaluating the competitive-exam tests is the candidate’s anonymity, in order to make the tests not associable with the name of the candidate that took them, so as to make the consequent evaluation impartial and objective.

[0014] Currently, carrying out the practical tests of a public competition implicates employing a huge number of personnel designated therefor and procedures associated therewith, since it is preliminarily necessary that the candidate’s identity is not associated with the test. Moreover, in order to administer a practical test to a candidate, there must be specialized personnel capable of setting up the test and of providing the technical materials required for carrying out the test. Thus, this makes carrying out simultaneous tests of several candidates very difficult.

[0015] A further disadvantage of the current procedures for managing the competitive-exam tests is the need to carry out the practical test in presence, in a location that is suitably set up for this purpose.

[0016] Moreover, after the practical test has been carried out, it is necessary to keep track of the test’s evaluation, in order to sum then the results of the evaluations of the further tests. It may therefore often occur that the evaluations of the practical tests are lost and that it is no longer possible to retrieve the original evaluation or that, due to manual handling, an accidental information leak happens.

[0017] A further disadvantage of the current procedures is the need to have the tests corrected by specialized personnel, which is time consuming.

[0018] In the light of the disadvantages and problems unsolved by the state of the art, an object of the present invention is to provide a system for managing tests for public competitions and selections which is capable of overcoming the problems and disadvantages of the state-of-the art methods. In particular, an object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of anonymizing the candidate’s identity according to a simple and reliable procedure.

[0019] Another object of the present invention is to provide a system through which it is possible that several candidates carry out the practical test simultaneously.

[0020] A further object of the present invention is to provide a system capable of anonymizing the candidate while s / he carries out the practical test.

[0021] A further object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows a candidate to carry out the practical test even remotely.

[0022] Another object of the present invention is to carry out an objective, automatic and real-time correction of the practical test carried out by the candidate.

[0023] Finally, an object of the present invention is to provide the method of operation of the system.

[0024] Summary of the invention

[0025] The idea underlying the present invention is to provide a system for managing practical tests of competitive exams, in particular, but not only, in the nursing field, that uses a virtual-reality device to simplify and speed up the carrying out of the practical test, at the same time ensuring the security and the anonymity of the procedures.

[0026] An object of the present invention is thus a system for managing the procedure of a public competition that comprises carrying out at least one test by at least one candidate, the system comprising at least one main control logic unit which is usable by an operator, in which the data related to the test are contained, at least one remote platform, which is operatively connected to said at least one main control logic unit, in which the programs and applications for carrying out the test are stored, and at least one virtual-reality device, which is operatively connected to said remote platform and usable by said at least one candidate for carrying out said at least one test, based on the data received from said remote platform.

[0027] Moreover, according to the invention, said virtual-reality device is a visor that is wearable by said at least one candidate, comprising an application programming interface (API) for the connection with said remote platform, supported by an Internet network.

[0028] Further according to the invention, said main control logic unit is provided with a control panel or program able to interact with the data contained in said remote platform, assigning said at least one virtual- reality device to a candidate, associating a candidate-specific identifier with said at least one virtual-reality device.

[0029] Further according to the invention, said program is able to provide the control of the state of said at least one virtual-reality device, so as to control its state during the carrying out of said at least one test, the operations of association of said at least one virtual-reality device with said candidate, the beginning, the suspension, and the conclusion of said at least one test.

[0030] Preferably according to the invention, said remote platform comprises a three-dimensional modeling program in which a mannequin- shaped polygon representing the full-size human body is depicted, on which target areas, on which the virtual electrodes are to be placed in order for said candidate to carry out a virtual electrocardiogram in said at least one test, are highlighted.

[0031] Further according to the invention, said remote platform is operatively connected to at least one database capable of receiving and storing the data related to the carrying out of said at least one practical test.

[0032] Further according to the invention, said main control logic unit is operatively connected to said remote platform through at least one application programming interface - API, supported by an Internet network.

[0033] Preferably according to the invention, said system may comprise a plurality of virtual-reality devices, each device of said plurality of virtual- reality devices being associable with one candidate through a univocal code, for carrying out said at least one test.

[0034] A further object of the present invention is a method of operation of the system for managing the procedure of a competitive exam, comprising the following steps:

[0035] 110. performing a three-dimensional modeling in said remote platform, by inserting a mannequin- shaped polygon representing the full- size human body, and highlighting target areas on said polygon through additional polygons;

[0036] 120. providing, by at least one candidate, a personal identifier to said main control logic unit;

[0037] 130. associating said at least one virtual-reality device with said at least one candidate by means of said identifier through said main control logic unit and activating the test session;

[0038] 140. using said virtual-reality device, thereby converting the movements of the hands of said at least one candidate and the virtual electrodes into three-dimensional polygons which are movable on said mannequin;

[0039] 150. sending the data of said test to said remote platform, through said at least one virtual-reality device, if said polygons associated with the hands of said at least one candidate and with said virtual electrodes collide with the polygons that are in said target areas, the test has a positive result;

[0040] 160. saving the test’s data in said database and finishing the test. Finally, according to the invention, the data exchanges occur through an application programming interface - API, supported by an Internet network.

[0041] Brief description of the drawings

[0042] The present invention will be now described through non-limiting examples, according to a preferred embodiment, with particular reference to the attached figures, in which: figure 1 shows a schematic representation of the components of the system for managing the procedures of a public competition according to the present invention; figure 2 shows an outline of a three-dimensional modeling performed in a step of the method that is an object of the present invention; and figure 3 shows a block diagram of the operation of the method that is an object of the present invention.

[0043] Detailed description

[0044] Referring to the attached figures, the system S for managing the procedure of a public competition substantially comprises a main control logic unit 1, a remote platform 2, which is operatively connected to a database 21, and at least one virtual-reality device 3. Usually, during the carrying out of a practical test, a plurality of virtual-reality devices 3 are used, each device being associable with a candidate registered for the competitive exam.

[0045] In the invention at issue, the competitive exam is in particular a public competition for the selection of nursing personnel. The practical test to be carried out through the virtual-reality device 3 consists in the virtual carrying out of an electrocardiogram or ECG, by positioning the precordial leads according to the correct procedure, namely, positioning virtual electrodes, represented by polygons, at specific body areas. Said main control logic unit 1 is used by an operator designated for assisting in the exam tests, and it is operatively connected to said remote platform 2 through a plurality of application programming interfaces - APIs, supported by an Internet network. Said main control logic unit 1 comprises a program capable of setting up the preliminary conditions for carrying out the test. In particular, said main control logic unit 1 comprises a control panel P of the VR Proctor Dashboard type, able to interact with the data contained in said remote platform 2, mainly assigning said at least one virtual-reality device 3 to a candidate, associating an identifier, such as a user PIN, which is specific for the candidate with said at least one virtual-reality device 3. This association occurs with an PAIR- type API.

[0046] Moreover, APIs allow the control panel P to provide a screen for controlling the state of said plurality of virtual-reality devices 3, so as to control their state during the carrying out of the practical test, in particular the operations of association of the virtual- reality device 3 with the single candidate, the beginning, the suspension, or the conclusion of the practical test.

[0047] In particular, the API that allows to carry out this control is of the get / STATE type.

[0048] Said remote platform 2 is a web platform accessible via the Internet or intranet depending on the procedural needs and comprises a Test On Line (TOL) application in which further possible questions of the test to be administered to the candidates may be contained, after log-in through PIN or a similar procedure.

[0049] An API module supporting the VRTS application is also installed on said remote platform 2. The VRTS application is based on a known Unity 3D- type engine, which is a cross-platform graphics engine, provided with a plurality of functions and libraries. In the Unity 3D engine, the three- dimensional space is represented with a system of coordinates X, Y and Z of a Cartesian space, in which all the three-dimensional objects are drawn.

[0050] In particular, for the invention at issue, in the 3D space of the Unity 3D engine, a mannequin-shaped polygon representing the full-size human body is inserted, and, on said polygon, the areas of the mannequin’s chest on which the virtual electrodes are to be placed to carry out an electrocardiogram or ECG, defined as AT, are highlighted. 3D polygons provided with the collision-detector function are created and inserted in the target areas AT to signal if and which virtual electrodes are placed in one or more target areas AT.

[0051] To determine if the virtual electrodes have correctly been arranged in the target areas AT, the 3D polygons placed in the target areas AT and the virtual electrodes are provided with collision functions, which are in the Collision class of the Unity 3D engine.

[0052] The Collision class is capable of detecting when one or more 3D objects collide with each other, verifying the position occupied in the Cartesian space by the different objects. When two positions coincide, the collision is detected and the names of the colliding polygons are returned.

[0053] Said remote platform 2 is capable of receiving the PIN from the main control logic unit 1 and, through the get / STATE-type API, verifies which virtual-reality devices 3 are available in that moment to associate PIN and device 3 and thus start the test.

[0054] Said remote platform 2 is operatively connected to a database 21 where all the data related to the carrying out of the tests are saved.

[0055] The virtual-reality device 3 is a visor, wearable by a candidate, for carrying out the practical test and it comprises an application capable of being operatively connected to said remote platform 2 through an API. In particular, through the put / STATE-type API, each single virtual-reality device 3 communicates with said remote platform 2 to update its own state and to provide the data related to the test when said test is finished. Through the RESULTS-type API, the virtual-reality device 3, at the end of the test, sends the data of the results and further parameters to said remote platform 2 for the subsequent evaluation. The results, namely the exercises (whether carried out correctly or not), specifically the results of each single step, are not directly displayed on the virtual-reality device 3, but are only stored on said database 21, for the successive processing, since the end result might consist of the sum of more exercises.

[0056] The virtual-reality device 3 is capable of tracing the position of the candidate’s hands and of transforming it into three-dimensional polygons within the 3D scene, in the Cartesian space. In this way, the polygons follow the natural movement of the candidate’s hands and become polygons for which it is possible to detect collisions with the 3D objects, for example the pressure of a button-shaped polygon, or the action of “picking up” a 3D virtual object such as the electrode of the ECG examination.

[0057] The method 100 of operation of the system S for managing the procedure of a public competition comprises the following steps.

[0058] In a preliminary three-dimensional-modeling step 110., as previously described, a mannequin- shaped polygon representing the full-size human body is inserted, and, on said polygon, the target areas AT of the mannequin’s chest are highlighted. 3D polygons provided with the collision-detector function are created and inserted in the target areas A to signal if and which virtual electrodes are placed in one or more target areas AT.

[0059] In a second step 120., the candidate C provides his / her personal identifier or user PIN to an operator who inserts it into said main control logic unit 1, in the interface of association PIN-virtual-reality device 3. PIN reading occurs by reading a barcode or QR code through an electronic device of the barcode-reader type or with any other technology that enables automated matching of the virtual-reality device 3 to the PIN. In a third step 130., through the PAIR-type API, the user PIN is associated with a device of the plurality of virtual-reality devices 3 and the test session is activated.

[0060] In a fourth step 140., the candidate C wears the virtual-reality device 3 associated thereto and carries out the test, moving his / her hands in the virtual space, said hands being transformed into three-dimensional polygons within the 3D scene, in the Cartesian space.

[0061] In a fifth step 150., the virtual-reality device 3 sends the data resulting from the test via API to said remote platform 2 and shows the test-end message to the candidate C; if the polygons associated with the virtual electrodes or with the precordial leads moved by the hands of the candidate C collide in the right order with the polygons that are in the target areas AT, the test has a positive result.

[0062] In a sixth step 160., the test’s data are saved in said database 21 for the further processing that is required at the end of the exercises and the process ends.

[0063] As is evident from the above description, the advantage of the system and the method that are objects of the present invention is to allow carrying out the practical test of a competitive exam in a rapid and safe way and even remotely.

[0064] Obviously a person skilled in the art, in order to satisfy any specific requirements which might arise, may make numerous modifications and variations to the system described above, all of which are however contained within the scope of protection of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

Claims

CLAIMS1. A system (S) for managing the procedure of a public competition that comprises carrying out at least one test by at least one candidate (C), the system comprising at least one main control logic unit (1) which is usable by an operator, in which the data related to the test are contained, characterized in that it comprises at least one remote platform (2), which is operatively connected to said at least one main control logic unit (1), in which the programs and applications for carrying out the test are stored, and in that it comprises at least one virtual-reality device (3), which is operatively connected to said remote platform (2) and usable by said at least one candidate (C) for carrying out said at least one test, based on the data received from said remote platform (2).

2. The system (S) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said virtual-reality device (3) is a visor that is wearable by said at least one candidate (C), comprising an application programming interface (API) for the connection with said remote platform (2), supported by an Internet network.

3. The system (S) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main control logic unit (1) is provided with a control panel or program (P) able to interact with the data contained in said remote platform (2), assigning said at least one virtual-reality device (3) to a candidate, associating a candidate (C)-specific identifier with said at least one virtual-reality device (3) .

4. The system (S) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that said program (P) is able to provide the control of the state of said at least one virtual-reality device (3), so as to control its state during the carrying out of said at least one test, the operations of association of said at least one virtual-reality device (3) with said candidate (C), the beginning, thesuspension, and the conclusion of said at least one test.

5. The system (S) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said remote platform (2) comprises a three- dimensional modeling program in which a mannequin-shaped polygon representing the full-size human body is depicted, on which target areas (AT), on which the virtual electrodes are to be placed in order for said candidate (C) to carry out a virtual electrocardiogram in said at least one test, are highlighted.

6. The system (S) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said remote platform (2) is operatively connected to at least one database (21) capable of receiving and storing the data related to the carrying out of said at least one practical test.

7. The system (S) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said main control logic unit (1) is operatively connected to said remote platform (2) through at least one application programming interface - API, supported by an Internet network.

8. The system (S) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of virtual-reality devices (3), each device of said plurality of virtual-reality devices (3) being associable with one candidate (C) through a univocal code, for carrying out said at least one test.

9. A method (100) of operation of the system for managing the procedure of a public competition according to any one of the preceding claims 1-8, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

110. performing a three-dimensional modeling in said remote platform (2), by inserting a mannequin-shaped polygon representing the full-size human body, and highlighting target areas (AT) on said polygon through additional polygons;120. providing, by at least one candidate (C), a personal identifier tosaid main control logic unit (1);130. associating said at least one virtual-reality device (3) with said at least one candidate (C) by means of said identifier through said main control logic unit (1) and activating the test session; 140. using said virtual-reality device (3), thereby converting the movements of the hands of said at least one candidate (C) and the virtual electrodes into three-dimensional polygons which are movable on said mannequin;150. sending the data of said test to said remote platform (2), through said at least one virtual-reality device (3), if said polygons associated with the hands of said at least one candidate (C) and with said virtual electrodes collide with the polygons that are in said target areas (AT), the test has a positive result;160. saving the test’s data in said database (21) and finishing the test.

10. The method (100) according to the preceding claim, characterized in that the data exchanges occur through an application programming interface - API, supported by an Internet network.

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