A new transportation system will be implemented at the KAIST main campus. The Online Electric Vehicle (OLEV) Development Team plans to install the OLEV shuttle bus by mid-September this year to facilitate students’ movement within the school.

Now a well-known product of KAIST, the OLEV is a type of automobile that picks up electricity from power cables buried underground through non-contact magnetic charging. This “Road-Embedded Recharger” method developed by engineers at KAIST was also designated as one of “The 50 Best Inventions of 2010” by Time magazine last year. The OLEV is already established in Seoul Grand Park and is successfully running. With further research and development, the OLEV should one day serve as one of the eco-friendly solutions to environmental pollution caused by excessive fossil fuel consumption.

According to the OLEV Development Team, the exact locations for installing electricity supply lines for the new shuttle bus system has not been decided yet. However, a member of the team, Mr. Nam Jin Woo, said through an e-mail correspondence with The KAIST Herald that the locations will be decided later after discussing the matter with the Safety Control Team. He also confirmed that the terminal station will be at Kaimaru (N11), the student cafeteria, and that all but three of the bus stops have been settled on.

Mr. Nam also noted through the e-mail that the process of installing the shuttle bus is still in its early stage. He emphasized that various aspects of the plan for establishing the new transportation system he shared with The KAIST Herald are provisional.

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