Computer-Based Training System With Student Verification

This invention relates to computer-based training ("CBT") systems. More specifically, this invention relates to a system for verifying the identity of CBT users who perform the training in an unsupervised environment.

The use of CBT systems to teach students is well known in the art. Typically, CBT systems use a microcomputer work station such as an IBM PC.RTM. to run programs that provide instruction to, and test and elicit answers from, the students on a selected topic of course material. (As used herein, training sessions include instructional sessions, testing sessions, or both combined.) Advancements in the art of computer-based training include the use of interactive audio-visual systems wherein the course of instruction interfaces audio commands from a tape with on-screen computer-based training to create an integrated training environment.

A key advantage of CBT systems is the ability to provide them in an unsupervised environment which allows students to access the training systems according to their own individual schedules. However, for a training system to be effective, and in some cases to satisfy governmental or other certification requirements, it is necessary to verify that the student receiving credit for the training be the same person who participated in the training session. Because the training is unsupervised it is necessary that there be verifiable means to ensure that the student authorized for the training is the same person who performed the training. Conventional CBT systems do not provide a means of checking the identity of CBT users participating in the training session and therefore create a problem for CBT administration officials who must somehow ensure the integrity of the training.

The present invention solves the problem of verifying the identity of the training session user by storing the user's verified (or control) signature at the time of course registration and thereafter requesting and storing the user's signature at random intervals during the session (hereinafter "session signature"). In addition to storing the session signatures taken at random times, the computer also stores other parameters pertaining to the signature, referred to herein as "discriminator data," such as the length of time for the user to enter the signature, the number of erasures before successfully making the signature, the signature density, and a number indicating the signature size. The time and date of signature entry is also stored with the session signature. When the student has completed a CBT course or session, his/her responses, along with the requested session signatures and associated discriminator data, are transferred into a central computer and a program is run to detect anomalies in the discriminator data, flag anomalous signatures and present the course administrator with the option of visually comparing the anomalous session signature(s) with the verified signature. Anomalies noted from such comparison of the discriminator data can be outputted as a printed report along with course data such as test results, time spent on coursework and other data that may be relevant to a particular course. The system also provides a method of encrypting all data so as to prevent tampering by CBT users.

Accordingly, it is a primary objective of the present invention to provide a computer-based training system that verifies the identity of the user at random intervals during the training session.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a method of registering and storing handwritten signatures of users of computer-based training systems and comparing discriminator data corresponding to those signatures with discriminator data corresponding to the verified signature of the respective individuals authorized to take a particular training course.

It is another object of the present invention to provide, in a CBT application environment, a computerized method for verifying the identity of the CBT user by detecting anomalies in a handwritten signature entered by the user during a training session and generating a report of the results, either alone or with other data, such as test results from the training session.

It is a further object to provide a CBT system that uses as a primary input device a solitary device that is capable of registering handwritten signatures, computer commands, and responses to queries posed by the training program.

The foregoing and other objectives, features and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon consideration of the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing the hardware components of the computer-based training system and signature verification system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a logic block diagram of the signature verification system.

FIG. 3 is a representation of a template that is mounted onto a digitizing pad that is associated with the stylus.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show an exemplary logic flow diagram illustrating the operation of a computer software program that registers the handwritten signature data.

Appendix A is a source code listing of an exemplary computer program written in the "C" programming language for registering the user's handwritten signature and detecting anomalies in a session signature as compared to the user's verified signature.

The signature verification system of the present invention is used in conjunction with a computer-based training ("CBT") system to verify the identity of the person who participates in a training session. The necessary components of the verification system include the hardware to register the user's signature and the associated software to read the signature, make certain discrimination measurements, store a representation of the signature and associated discriminator data and detect anomalies in the discriminator data.

A brief understanding of a CBT system is necessary to the full description of the present invention. CBT systems rely on a computer to present information to a student and to accept responses from the student relating to questions posed by the training session. An elementary CBT system would have a single computer, a keyboard to input data, a monitor to display information, and a program to run the training session. More sophisticated CBT systems interact with laser disks and/or audio tapes to provide an integrated training environment.

A key advantage of CBT systems is that numerous work stations can be available for use by students, without the need for direct supervision by trained personnel, so that students can access and use the CBT system at times convenient to their own personal schedule.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram representation of the hardware components of a system embodying the features of the present invention incorporated into a CBT system. The CBT system 8 includes a student computer 10 which has a keyboard 12, a monitor 14, a stylus 22, and data entry pad 20. Typically, the student computer 10 has a disk drive 16 for reading from and writing to a magnetic disk storage unit 18. The data entry pad 20 is preferably a digitizing tablet.

The data entry pad 20 and stylus 22, which may be of conventional design, serve as the primary input device for the student's use in communicating with the computer. The top of the pad is covered with a custom-designed template 21. As shown in FIG. 3, the template has a signature input area 24; the remaining portion of the template is segregated into portions corresponding to characters, symbols and text and is used as a data entry area. The student uses the pad and stylus to input commands to the computer, to respond to test queries from the CBT program and to sign his/her signature. To use the pad and stylus, the student positions the tip of the stylus over an area on the template that corresponds with the desired input and presses down on the stylus to depress the tip 23. The computer will detect the position of stylus when the tip is depressed and generate the appropriate corresponding command or letter.

The student would perform a signature by pressing the stylus against the pad in the signature area 24 with sufficient force to depress the tip 23 of the stylus. The student then uses the stylus as he would a pen to handwrite a signature. When the computer detects the stylus in the signature area the computer will represent the student's signature on the monitor 14. When the stylus is in the signature area and the tip is depressed and the stylus is moving, the computer will draw a line on the monitor corresponding with the line motion made by the student. When the stylus is moved without having its tip depressed the computer will not make a line on the monitor. Thus, when the student lifts the stylus to start a new word the monitor will show the movement as a space and the words will be properly spaced apart.

In addition to the student computer there is also an administration or central computer 50 with an associated disk drive 51, keyboard 52, monitor 54 and printer 56. Operationally, the administration computer would be in a secured area not accessible to students who participate in CBT sessions. Typically, the two computers would interface by downloading the necessary information from the student computer 10 onto the floppy disk 18 and then manually transporting the disk to the administration computer 50. Alternatively, the administration computer could be connected to the student computer by a hard wire link (dashed line 60) therebetween. A number of such student computers could be networked or linked to a single central administration computer.

Referring to FIG. 2, the individual steps of the verification system of the present invention will now be explained in detail. A student becomes an authorized user of the CBT system by performing the necessary registration steps with the CBT administration personnel. At the time of authorization the student is required to perform a verified signature. (Alternatively, the verified signature could be collected at the time of the student's first use of the CBT system.) Using the digitizing pad 20 and the stylus 22 (FIG. 1), the student creates a signature in the signature area 24 by using the stylus as a pen and simulating "writing" in the signature area. The pad and stylus create a machine-readable code that represents the student's signature, which code is "registered" by the computer. (Alternative means for registering the signature, other than by stylus and digitizing tablet, are available. For example, the signature could be written by the student using a standard "mouse" on any flat surface or by using a light pen and writing directly onto the screen of the monitor 14.) The student's signature is thereby registered as a verified (or control) signature, loaded into the computer's RAM and displayed on the monitor 14 for the student to view. This action is represented by block 70. After completing the signature the student has the option to accept the signature or erase it and start over. (This is provided for convenience so someone not familiar with the use of the stylus has a chance to write a more representative signature.) This looping process 72 (writing signature, accepting or erasing) is repeated until the student accepts the signature. When the student indicates satisfaction with the signature, discriminator data (described below) is registered at 75 and the signature data and discriminator data are then encrypted by means 76 and stored onto a data storage medium 78 which is typically the magnetic disk 18 (FIG. 1). The discriminator data corresponding to the verified signature comprises the signature size, signature density ratio and time to create the signature by the user. The number of erasures may also be recorded. The encrypted, stored verified signature and discriminator data are then, at some later date, transported to, and loaded into, the administration computer 110.

A student will begin a training session by logging onto the computer 10 or loading a disk 18 onto the disk drive 16 of the student computer 10 and executing a program for conducting a training session. Training sessions that are part of a series of sessions will typically read information from the student's personal disk 18 to determine the stage of computer training that should be next executed. The training session then begins and the student follows instructions as presented by the CBT program on the monitor 14. The verification system may, if desired, be programmed to request a session signature from the student at the beginning of each training session.

During the training session, the verification system will randomly generate requests 94 for session signatures form the student at a rate selected by administration personnel. For example, the administration personnel may select a sample rate of 60 minutes in which case the CBT system will query the CBT user for a session signature randomly once each 60-minute interval. The student must then write his/her name in the signature area 24 of the digitizing pad 20 in order to continue the training session. The signature is displayed graphically on the monitor 14. After writing the signature the student has the option of accepting the signature or erasing it and writing a new one. When the signature is finally deemed acceptable by the student it is registered and stored in the computer. The system also records the date and time of signature registration and measures and records various discriminator data associated with the signature for use in signature analysis. The discriminator data includes the elapsed time for a student to write a signature, the number of erasures before the student indicates satisfaction with the signature representation, a signature density ratio, and a numerical size indication of the signature. The elapsed time and number of erasures are self-explanatory.

The size of the signature is determined by the smallest rectangle that can enclose the signature. Apologizing the signature display to the first quadrant of a Cartesian coordinate plane--the computer calculates the maximum x and y and the minimum x and y of bits set (or pixels on the monitor 14) by the signature representation. The maximum x and y and minimum x and y define the four sides of a rectangle that is directly proportional to the numerical size discriminator datum.

The density ratio is calculated by dividing the number of bits set by the signature representation into the number of bits within the smallest enclosing rectangle as calculated in the size determination portion of the program described above. The number of bits set reflects the curvilinear length of the signature lines.

The signature registration routine is diagrammatically represented by the logic flow diagram shown in FIG. 4 which illustrates the logic flow for the source code reprinted in Appendix A. The logic flow diagram is self explanatory and can be understood by those familiar with the art.

After the signature is registered, the time, date, and discriminator data along with the signature representation data are then encrypted at 96 for security purposes, so as to prevent tampering, for example, and the encrypted data stored at 98 on a magnetic storage media such as disk 18. The student's answers in response to queries by the CBT program at 100 are also encrypted and stored along with the session signature(s), time, date and discriminator data. Thus, at the end of a training session the student's disk will contain the results of the CBT training session, including the student's answers to CBT test queries, and his/her signature representations with time, date and discriminator data. All data is stored in encrypted format. This disk could then be manually transported to the administration computer 110, or alternatively the information could be sent by a hard-wire network link.

After the verified signature, the requested session signatures, the discriminator data, and responses to the CBT queries are loaded into the administration computer it is possible to analyze the data and generate a report for administration personnel. To do so, the data is read into a report program, decrypted by means 112 and a program 114 detects anomalies in the discrimination data. An anomaly is detected when a discriminator datum falls outside a predetermined range of acceptable deviation as compared to the corresponding discriminator datum of the verified signature. The range of acceptable deviation is determined by statistical methods based upon empirical data and is subject to improvement as the data base grows. A source code listing of an exemplary program for comparing and detecting signature anomalies is included in Appendix A. This information is then organized into a useful form and a report 118 is generated which can be listed on the printer 56 or monitor 54. The CBT administrator has the option of viewing signature(s) corresponding to anomalous discriminator data on the monitor 54 of the central computer or the printer 56, and thereby visually comparing, side-by-side, the verified and session signatures.

It will be recognized that, instead of storing the encrypted signature information on a disk medium 18, it would also be feasible to hardwire the student computer 10 to the administration computer 110. This would eliminate the need to manually transport the disk between the student computer and the administration computer.

In addition to the signature discriminator data mentioned above, it is possible to measure and register additional discriminator data depending upon the degree of security required for the CBT system. For example, there are known signature recognition systems that measure other characteristics of a signature such as handwriting speed. One such system is shown in Engelbrecht, U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,679. It will be apparent that such systems could readily be integrated into the present invention to provide different or additional discriminator data to be stored along with the representations of the signatures for use in later comparison.

It is also feasible for the operations of the student computer 10 and the administration computer 110 to be performed on the same computer. The present invention separates the system between two computers for security and logistics reasons. However, the steps shown in FIG. 2 and the hardware components of FIG. 1 could easily be accomplished within a single computer system in which security would be maintained by providing limited access to data. Data access could be limited by providing security codes that are known only by authorized administration personnel which codes would be required by the computer before permitting access to sensitive data.

The source code for the signature registration program is reprinted in Appendix A. The majority of the program is coded in the programming language known as "C." Two pages at the end of the listing, written in a data manipulative language known as CLIPPER.RTM., show the functions comparing the discriminator data of the verified signature with that of the session signature to detect anomalies in the latter.

The terms and expressions which have been employed in the foregoing specification are used therein as terms of description and not of limitation, and there is no intention, in the use of such terms and expressions, of excluding equivalents of the features shown and described or portions thereof, it being recognized that the scope of the invention is defined and limited only by the claims which follow. ##SPC1##