Yahoo News/
Toyota Motor Corporation TM recently announced plans to build a prototype city of the future— Woven City — in Japan. It will be built on a 175-acre site at the base of Mt. Fuji, powered by hydrogen fuel cells and function as a living laboratory for autonomous cars, smart homes, artificial intelligence and other technologies. Danish architect Bjarke Ingels has been commissioned to design the Woven City, which is expected to break ground in early 2021.
The city is being designed to be entirely sustainable, with buildings made mostly of wood, in a bid to reduce carbon footprint, combined with robotic production methods, using traditional Japanese wood joinery. In addition to the power generated by hydrogen fuel cells, the rooftops will be covered with photo-voltaic panels for solar power generation.
The streets or pathways, as the name suggests, will be weaved together into three different types, each for a specific type of user. These will be used for faster vehicles, a mix of lower speed, personal mobility and pedestrians, and a park-like pedestrian walk. To cut climate-changing emissions from vehicles, autonomous Toyota e-Palettes will be used for transportation and deliveries.
Residents will use sensor-based AI to track residents’ wellbeing, look after their basic needs, and improve daily life, providing an opportunity to safely and effectively deploy connected technology with integrity and trust. Toyota will also extend invitations to collaborate with other business and academic partners, and encourage interested scientists and researchers across the globe to come and work, in order to take advantage of this unique research ecosystem.
Toyota’s focus on developing electric and driverless cars is likely to boost revenues in the days ahead. The company plans to introduce fuel-cell-enabled SUVs, and pick-up and commercial trucks by 2025. The firm also aims to achieve half its global sales from electric vehicles during the same time frame. Toyota’s efforts to make better cars suitable for CASE (connected, autonomous, shared and electric) era are commendable.
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