Toyota announced in the framework of the CES technology fair that is held -as every year- in Las Vegas, its most ambitious project to date: the creation of Woven City , an urban prototype that has been called the “laboratory of the future” . because the future digital city will run on hydrogen fuel cells, there will be autonomous cars and houses will be smart homes; it will be a city dominated by technology, sustainability and artificial intelligence.
Where will the city be built?
The prototype city of the future will be built at the base of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji on a plot of less than 1 square kilometer (70 hectares or 708,200 square meters specifically) that, according to Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda, announced that it is the location of a factory of the firm that is closing down.
It will be called ‘Woven City’, Woven City, a reference to Toyota’s beginning as a loom manufacturing company, and it will serve as a home for residents and full-time researchers as if it were a “living laboratory”, since the idea is that the scientists live and develop technologies in and from the city itself. Of course, the cost of such an innovative project and the deadlines have not yet been announced.
“Building an entire city from scratch, 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,” Toyoda said. “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 physical realms, maximizing its potential.”
You won’t have to wait long to see the result. It is an urban prototype for the near future. The work of the Japanese car giant and the Danish architecture firm BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, will present us with a fully connected ecosystem, whose city will begin to be built in 2021. The BIG group has built buildings as impressive as the Lego House in Denmark, the Two World Trade Center in New York and the Mountain View and London headquarters of the giant Google.
“It’s my personal field of dreams,” Toyoda said.
What will the structure of the city be like?
The design of this royal city with inhabitants (and not a testing ground) has taken more than eight months. The streets will be redesigned to emphasize efficiency, safety and sustainability, and residents will only be able to travel the city’s main thoroughfares in fully autonomous, emission-free vehicles.
“Today the typical street is a mess with everything and nothing everywhere,” clarified architect BIG Bjarke Ingels. “So we started by dividing the typical street into three separate forms of mobility.” The streets will have an urban walkway for pedestrians, an autonomous vehicle lane and slower forms of mobility. They will form 3×3 grids. There will be parks in the neighborhood and a large central park, as well as a central plaza for social gatherings.
Much of the city’s infrastructure will be underground, including hydrogen fuel cells and water filtration systems, as well as a network for autonomous supply delivery connected to above-ground buildings. Like science fiction, residents ‘homes will be equipped with cutting-edge technologies, such as sensor-based artificial intelligence, to verify residents’ health and meet basic needs.
Wood and renewable energy
As if this were not enough, sustainability has not been neglected. Rooftops will feature solar panels to supplement underground hydrogen energy, buildings will be constructed primarily of wood and hydroponics, and native species will be installed throughout the city.
Similarly, Toyota has claimed to be open to partnerships with other companies that want to use the project as a technological testing ground.
“We welcome all those who want to research technologies to improve the way we will live in the future, so that they can take advantage of this unique research ecosystem,” said Toyoda.
Forget driving a Toyota Camry or even a Prius on the main streets. According to the company, only fully autonomous zero-emission vehicles will be allowed on main roads.
Call to investigators
“Imagine a fully controlled site that allows researchers, engineers and scientists the opportunity to freely test technology such as autonomy, mobility as a service, robotics, smart home technology, artificial intelligence and more, in an environment from the real world, “said Toyoda who is convinced that researchers will be eager to live in an environment as innovative and unique as this one.
Building a city from scratch carries the benefit of installing the latest technology and not having to worry about compatibility or modifications with the probably obsolete infrastructure, but it also has its risks, since it carries the burden of a very significant capital investment and a only once, rather than over time as traditional cities do. It is a risk that according to Toyota, is worth taking.
“We welcome all those inspired to improve the way we will live in the future to harness a unique research ecosystem and join us in our quest to create an ever-better way of life and mobility for all,” concluded the President. from Toyota Motor Corporation.
