Toyota is building a 175-acre smart city in Japan where residents will test out tech like AI, robotics, and smart homes. Here's what the 'city of the future' will look like.
Toyota's planned 175-acre smart city will sit at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, which is about 62 miles from Tokyo.
Called the "Woven City," the development is expected to be fully sustainable, powered by hydrogen fuel cells.
The "city of the future" will function as a testing ground for technologies like robotics, smart homes, and artificial intelligence, according to the company.
"Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city's infrastructure," Toyota president Akio Toyoda said in a press release.
"With people, buildings, and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through data and sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology… in both the virtual and the physical realms … maximizing its potential," Toyoda added.
Toyota plans to send 2,000 people to live in the Woven City to start and then gradually grow the population.
The first residents will be Toyota employees and their families, retired couples, retailers, visiting scientists, and industry partners, according to the company.
Residents will live in homes outfitted with the latest in-home robotics technology to assist with daily living as well as sensor-based artificial intelligence to monitor health and take care of basic needs.
Despite the planned high-tech homes, Toyota says that "encouraging human connection will be an equally important aspect of this experience."
The city will include multiple parks and a large central plaza for social gatherings.
Toyota's president says the city is part of a "quest to create an ever-better way of life and mobility for all."
The city's buildings will be made mostly of wood to minimize the carbon footprint.
And rooftops will be covered in photo-voltaic panels to generate solar power and hydrogen fuel cell power.
Toyota says it plans to "weave in the outdoors throughout the city" with native vegetation and hydroponics.
The city will be designed with three different types of streets: streets for faster vehicles only, those for a mix of lower speed vehicles and pedestrians, and a park-like promenade for pedestrians only.
These three types of streets will form an "organic grid pattern" to help test autonomy, according to Toyota.
A fleet of Toyota's self-driving electric vehicles, called e-Palettes, will be used for transportation, deliveries, and "changeable mobile retail" throughout the city.
Construction of the Woven City will start in 2021, and Toyota has not yet revealed an estimated completion date or estimated cost.
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