From smart cars to smart cities. Talk about escalation of scale.
As smart tech, robots, and automation proliferate throughout society, we’re encountering a bit of a conundrum. A lot of aspects of futuristic tech clash with aspects of society we’ve all grown used to. It’s kind of weird and inconvenient to try and integrate so many smart devices into our daily lives when we already have simpler solutions for things that we’re used to. What we need is a fresh setting where advanced tech can really flourish in its element. We need the Woven City.
At CES, Toyota announced a project on a scale never before seen from the company: an entire city dressed to the nines in the latest and greatest technology, named Woven City. It’s kind of like Epcot, except people are actually going to be living there. Specifically, around 2,000 residents and researchers will take up residence in this city as they study advancements in automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and more. The city is planned to be built on a 175-acre site (which previously held a Toyota factory) near the base of the famous Mt. Fuji. The whole thing will be powered by clean hydrogen energy, and will feature an entirely self-contained ecosystem.
The first people moving to this city will be a mix of Toyota researchers, retailers, researchers, and retirees, as well as their families. Construction is set to begin some time next year with assistance from Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group, though it’s anyone’s guess how long it’ll take to put this thing together.