Waiting for the Loop may soon become a thing of the past.

A group of Penn State students known as the Envisoneers have been working independently on a system known as the Loopfinder, which could help Centre Area Transportation Authority (CATA) as well as the area.

The group is composed of Penn State students interested in developing technology for the College of Engineering and for the community, said the group's adviser, Vijayavel "Vijay" Kumarswamy.

The plan, using global position technology, would allow students to check a Web site to see the location of all Loop buses as they circle campus.

The system will answer the question: "Is it faster to walk or to wait for the Loop?" project team leader, Jared Mizrahi said.

Mizrahi watched as members of his group duct-taped a makeshift antenna to the fender of a demonstration vehicle, his adviser's old Honda Accord.

"Vijay's a great adviser," he said. "He volunteers his car's paint job for our projects."

Group members quickly attached wires, a global positioning unit and a radio modem inside the car, and explained its benefit.

The equipment inside the car continuously broadcasts data about the vehicle's position to a computer inside Hammond Building. The computer uses the information to follow the vehicle on a map as it drives across campus.

Installing the equipment on Loop buses would cost less than $1,000 per bus, Mizrahi said.

Placing the tracking devices on buses is the first part of the project, he said. Phase two involves placing displays at the various Loop stops throughout campus, letting riders know how long their wait will be.

"Eventually, we think Penn State should be the high-tech campus that [the university] claims to be," said Envisioneer member Liz Cheehy.

Unlike placing antennas on the CATA busses, installing monitors throughout campus creates its own set of problems.

"Not all bus stops have a power supply," Kumarswamy said.

In addition, the displays have to be completely vandal-proof, Cheehy said.

CATA officials said they would be interested in hearing more about the possibilities of installing the Loopfinder on buses.

"We'd certainly love to use it," said CATA Director of Service Development Eric Bernier. Using the tracking technology has been proven throughout the industry, he said.

"What holds us back is the staff time, the resources and the capital," Bernier said.

Students working on the project have really done the time-consuming part, he said. Allowing CATA to use the technology would make it easier for them to implement.

If funding can be located, students could start checking the location of the Loop on the Web in less than a year, Mizrahi said.