CARDEA

Product Description

The human medicine programme at Johannes Kepler University Linz (JKU) offers a wide range of course formats that teach practice-oriented content. Student attendance is a basic requirement for a positive assessment of practical placements and admission to examinations.

Attendance was initially monitored using paper-based signature lists and managed manually. The MED Campus, which opened doors in the winter term of 2021, has implemented the state-of-the-art system CARDEA. Our concept is impressive due to the careful consideration of its details and the emphasis on sustainability. We developed, installed and evaluated hardware and software and implemented it in a very short period. Eight months after the project started, the devices were installed and students were able to record their attendance.

Maintain an overview

The overall CARDEA system comprises indoor units in the rooms of the Medical Faculty in Med Campus I, as well as outdoor monitors for displaying courses and orientation monitors for an overview of courses and events on a particular floor. 1,800 students can now be scheduled easily.

The benefit lies in the transparent and clear recording of attendance: this takes place when entering the room in which the course is held, on the display of the indoor unit 15 minutes before the start of the course at the earliest. Attendance can be recorded using a smartphone in combination with myJKU web application or the JKU Card. Students can immediately see and hear whether the registration was successful or an error occurred. Students can use the web portal to view their courses and schedules, check attendance, report absences, and submit substitute work for missed courses.

JKU staff and lecturers benefit from the fact that the administration and traceability (e.g. when changing appointments) of student attendance has been greatly simplified.

Device management is carried out entirely online. This has significantly reduced the administrative workload. At the same time, changes and absences are traceable and grading is transparent. The following automated processes have been implemented:

• Failover-system integrated
• Automatic display in the rooms
• Automatic allocation of students after change of location
• Change of QR codes every 30 seconds

From Requirement to finished Solution

The Hardware

The devices used to record attendance in the lecture rooms are equipped with e-ink displays, which have a short refresh time and very low power consumption. A power over ethernet (PoE) interface is available for power supply and connection to the online platform. No need for an additional power line with thousands of metres of power cable running through the entire facility.

All devices use energy-saving components with low energy consumption and a long service life (at least five years). They are put into energy-saving mode when not in use for long periods (e.g. at night, at weekends, during holidays).

Control, servicing and monitoring of the devices are carried out centrally, so that on-site interventions in the system are kept to a minimum. The device design was implemented using 3D printing and blends in with the overall look of Med Campus I. The housings could also be optimally adapted to the respective room situation using 3D adapters. This solution also has advantages in terms of a circular economy: 3D-printed parts can be easily expanded, supplemented and repaired. In addition, components and assemblies can be reused.

The display on the outdoor units can be used at any time for additional information (e.g. additional appointments). By expanding the interfaces, further functionalities can also be easily integrated in the future.

The Software

The CARDEA web portal is used by staff, lecturers, students and secretaries to manage equipment, courses and attendance. Different information and functions are available depending on the authorisation group. The administration portal is used by staff and lecturers to manage course attendance, including dates and grading, export grades, configure general settings and manage display devices (boxes).

Students can use the portal to view their assigned courses, check their attendance status in a course, swap dates or groups, and submit excuses and substitute work for absences.

The individual modules and functionalities can be expanded flexibly. REST interfaces for device management, screen displays and the myJKU web application enable ongoing synchronisation of settings.