Futuristic, autonomous and extremely technological, the "city of the future" is becoming a reality as we speak.
The purpose of its existence? To combine autonomous technology in everyday life, to function as a model and matrix at the same time for the next day of human coexistence and cooperation.
Some 175 acres at the foot of the mountain Fuji, the highest mountain in Japan and a symbol of the country, are leveled to set a vision different from the others.
As for the visionary of all this, he is none other than her Toyota, which obviously wants to give another meaning to the "corporate city", bringing together 2.000 people who will experience first hand the new dream of the technology industry.
Woven City will open its gates at the end of 2021, it is not something that concerns the distant future, but a reality that will bring a lot in terms of knowledge and innovation.
Here is what we know so far about the future of human society…
The Japanese car giant did not have to look far for the perfect location, as an old car factory was built there.
Of course, it will take a lot of work to become the "city of the future", as everything here is and works differently. Here, autonomous driving in cars will be tested without restrictions, the biggest bet in the world of 4 wheels, and here will happen a series of miracles that belong so far to the field of science fiction.
Innovative roads, really "smart" houses with unheard of automation, robotics at every step and new means of personal transportation and public transport will be available to real people who will live there full time. And that obviously matters.
The space, right at the foot of Fuji, was designed by the famous Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, founder of BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), who has futurism and functionality in his blood. Also not a random choice.
The city will house high-tech Toyota employees and their families, as well as scientists from around the world working on futuristic shots. The city will even be powered by Toyota fuel cells, the experimental electrochemical technology that converts hydrogen into energy, heat and water.
Η Toyota revealed at the latest technology show CES 2020 the city, with Akio Toyoda CEO saying "this is my personal vision".
It is called Woven City, something like Woven City, as it aims to intertwine three distinct types of streets, one for each use. One road for express vehicles, one for those who drive at slower speeds, ie pedestrians and cyclists, and a third for walking.
"These three types of road will be woven together to form an organic network to accelerate the testing of autonomous technology," Toyota tells us. "If you make it, they will come," adds Akio Toyoda.
Of course there is nothing new here. Automotive companies use large areas of land with city models all the time to do their experiments in autonomous driving. Only Toyota took the idea to its limits, as here we are talking about a real city with real people who will live and breathe in the ambitious vision of the manufacturer.
And Toyota has several autonomous concepts ready here. Last year, for example, he introduced the e-Palette, which he describes as "a fully automated, next-generation electric vehicle designed to be personalized for a variety of transportation and business services."
Such things will move in Woven City…
But Toyota has a different solution for everything from moving the citizens of the experimental city to health and accommodation services. Its autonomous vehicles will be assembled in central points, usually squares, where they will be small and functional shopping malls, for the supply of goods and services.
As for the houses, they will be turned into laboratories to test all the smart technologies that are already circulating or being developed in the laboratories. They will even have robots to facilitate home life.
"Homes will use sensor-based artificial intelligence to monitor occupants' health at all times, taking care of their basic needs and enhancing their day-to-day experience, creating the opportunity to develop connected technologies with reliability and integrity, safely and positively," he said. characteristics of the company.
What he has not told us for the time being and makes many worry, since every currency always has two sides, are the "issues" that are raised for the protection of privacy and the protection of personal data. Residents will likely need to sign confidentiality clauses and privacy agreements, as Toyota suggests, as Toyota is not a research firm but a for-profit company.
According to market participants, Toyota already owns the area where the city will be built, but the choice of the population without violating its personal data will undoubtedly be a complex task.
And they indicate her adventures Google for its respective vision, Sidewalk Labs in Toronto, the "city within a city" announced by parent company Alphabet in 2017 and is met with harsh criticism and war from both residents and municipal authorities for the lack of transparency. And here we are talking about only 12 acres…
With these limitations in mind, Toyota's venture remains unique and over-ambitious. A bet that if won we will gain a lot as humanity. A transcendental human experience that for the first time so massively and absolutely will try to live with innovation and cutting-edge technology at every step.
And of course no one can predict where all this will lead. In other words, as we try to understand conceptually and methodologically the importance of interconnectedness between communities and individuals, Toyota goes to the next step, seeking to control it in practice.
Woven City is not a research lab, but a real test tube to see if the new way tech visionaries are evangelizing is practically viable. Workers, employees and scientists to live in harmony with the extreme technological terms and not only that, but to feverishly produce even more technologies.
And the truth is that all of Toyota's proposals for residential areas, buildings and vehicles invite technology industry leaders to get involved. Those involved in robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomy, automation, smart devices, etc. they will be at the forefront of human progress to experience the miracle and expand it.
Everything that moves here will be completely autonomous and with zero pollutants. Squares, houses, parks and community centers will be built exclusively with sustainable solutions and high robotics. Even electricity will come from renewable energy sources, primarily the sun, but also Toyota's experimental fuel cells, hydrogen and oxygen.
On paper, the autonomy of the city seems unparalleled. Like the convenience level at home, where smart machines not only simplify tasks, but virtually eliminate them. Taking extra care of the health and well-being of the tenant. Thus leaving man undisturbed to deal with what he is doing, free from the suffering of everyday life. An everyday life that is sometimes relentless.
The fact is that Toyota's fully interconnected ecosystem has managed to steal the eye at CES, in a show that never misses things that leave you speechless. The history of mankind is of course full of utopian plans that envisioned a better life for some or all, but here we have the sincere intention for a real attempt.
A city that will continue to grow, housing other people, if all goes well. This living workshop will be called to test the future of humanity in practice, which is why it has recruited Bjarke Ingels, the great visionary of architecture.
The the world's first urban hatchery it will be an experiment like the one humanity has never seen before. An unprecedented experience of coexistence of humans, robots and artificial intelligence that will finally show us what is human and what is mechanical…