Systems and methods for providing virtual reality environment-based training and certification

Abstract

In some aspects, the disclosure is directed to methods and systems for a dynamic, reconfigurable virtual reality environment with in-environment access to external data and resources. Implementations of these systems also provide an external mechanism for modifying other aspects of the virtual reality experience with no need to recode or compile the experience. This can alter the primary flow of the experience, change its behavior based on the specific user accessing it and add branded or customer-specific aspects to the application. The same level or environment can provide drastically different experiences for various users from beginners through experts, even allowing the option of random or ordered events, controllable by an instructor or administrator, through simple configuration.

We claim: 
     
         1 . A method, comprising:
 (a) providing, by a computing device, a virtual environment via a virtual reality display to a user, the virtual environment comprising at least one or more virtual objects;   (b) detecting, by the computing device, a plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects via an input device of the computing device, each interaction associated with a corresponding time;   (c) calculating, by the computing device, a difference time between the time of a first interaction and the time of a subsequent action; and   (d) generating, by the computing device, a score based on a comparison of the calculated difference time to a reference difference time.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the reference difference time comprises a difference time between a corresponding first interaction and subsequent interaction of a second user with the same virtual objects, the interactions of the second user recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising measuring a positional or rotational difference of the detected first interaction and a corresponding first action of a second user recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , further comprising adjusting the score based on the measured positional or rotational difference. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, via the virtual reality display during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, an avatar corresponding to a tracked position of the user. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , further comprising displaying, via the virtual reality display during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, a second avatar corresponding to a tracked position of a second user interacting with the at least one or more virtual objects recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising displaying, via the virtual reality display in a first mode prior to the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, an avatar corresponding to a tracked position of a second user interacting with the at least one or more virtual objects recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , further comprising disabling display of the avatar corresponding to the tracked position of the second user, in a second mode during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising repeating steps (c)-(d) for each interaction and subsequent interaction of the plurality of interactions; and aggregating the generated scores. 
     
     
         10 . A system for providing virtual environment-based training and certification, comprising:
 a computing device comprising at least one sensor and a processor and in communication with a virtual reality display;   wherein the processor is configured to:
 (a) provide a virtual environment via the virtual reality display to a user, the virtual environment comprising at least one or more virtual objects, 
 (b) detect a plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects via an input device of the computing device, each interaction associated with a corresponding time, 
 (c) calculate a difference time between the time of a first interaction and the time of a subsequent action; and 
 (d) generate a score based on a comparison of the calculated difference time to a reference difference time. 
   
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the reference difference time comprises a difference time between a corresponding first interaction and subsequent interaction of a second user with the same virtual objects, the interactions of the second user recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to measure a positional or rotational difference of the detected first interaction and a corresponding first action of a second user recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein the processor is further configured to adjust the score based on the measured positional or rotational difference. 
     
     
         14 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to display, via the virtual reality display during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, an avatar corresponding to a tracked position of the user. 
     
     
         15 . The system of  claim 14 , wherein the processor is further configured to display, via the virtual reality display during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, a second avatar corresponding to a tracked position of a second user interacting with the at least one or more virtual objects recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         16 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to display, via the virtual reality display in a first mode prior to the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, an avatar corresponding to a tracked position of a second user interacting with the at least one or more virtual objects recorded prior to the plurality of interactions of the user. 
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further configured to disable display of the avatar corresponding to the tracked position of the second user, in a second mode during the plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to repeat steps (c)-(d) for each interaction and subsequent interaction of the plurality of interactions; and aggregate the generated scores. 
     
     
         19 . A system for providing virtual environment-based training and certification, comprising:
 a computing device comprising at least one sensor and a processor and in communication with a virtual reality display;   wherein the processor is configured to:
 provide a virtual environment via the virtual reality display to a user, the virtual environment comprising at least one or more virtual objects; and 
 for each of a plurality of interactions of the user with the at least one or more virtual objects, record an ordered log of interactions comprising a log entry for each interaction, each log entry comprising an identification of the virtual object corresponding to the interaction, a time of the interaction, and a position of an input device during the interaction. 
   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the processor is further configured to:
 provide the virtual environment to a second user; and   display, to the second user, an avatar in the virtual environment performing interactions of the user according to the recorded order log of interactions; and   wherein a position of the displayed avatar does not correspond to a position of the second user.