Toyota's Woven City: A Vision of the Future of Urban Living
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Woven City
Toyota's "Woven City," envisioned as a prototype for the future, aims to create an environment where fully autonomous mobility thrives by its expected completion in 2024. Located near Japan's iconic Mount Fuji, this smart city concept highlights the growing trend towards integrating advanced technologies in urban planning.
In 2019, I discussed another ambitious project called NEOM, a futuristic city in Saudi Arabia, which plans to house more robots than humans. While NEOM is set to be completed by 2025, Toyota has stepped into the spotlight with its own autonomous city initiative.
Understanding the Role of Automakers in Smart Cities
You might wonder why a car manufacturer would venture into city planning. The rationale becomes clearer with the understanding of autonomous driving. Current technology relies heavily on sensors to gather information about the environment. Toyota's vision for Woven City includes an extensive network of sensors and cameras placed throughout the urban landscape to collect data on everything from pedestrian movements to weather conditions.
Toyota is collaborating with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), Japan's leading telecommunications provider, to realize this vision. The city, just a two-hour drive from Tokyo, aims to serve as a prototype for future urban environments adapted to autonomous transportation. Projections indicate that by 2040, the number of autonomous vehicles could exceed 33 million annually.
This video, titled Toyota's Woven City: a Prototype City of the Future, explores the innovative aspects of this groundbreaking project.
A Living Laboratory for Autonomous Technology
The sensor-rich Woven City will act as a testing ground for autonomous vehicles, deliveries, and mobile services, all while accommodating selected residents who will contribute to this living laboratory upon its completion in 2024. The name "Woven City" pays homage to Toyota's roots in automatic loom manufacturing, symbolizing the integration of software, services, vehicles, and urban infrastructure.
The city will leverage vast amounts of data collected through various sources, including optical networks and cloud computing, to create a digital representation of the urban environment.
In this second video, Woven City: Toyota Is Building A City for Self-Driving Cars, learn how Toyota is shaping the future of self-driving technology within urban settings.
Chapter 2: The Financial Investment and Future Challenges
Recent reports indicate that Toyota has secured a $550 million deal to acquire Lyft’s self-driving operations. This acquisition will enhance Woven Planet Holdings Inc., Toyota's technology division dedicated to automated driving and the Woven City project, by adding 300 skilled employees and valuable data.
While the city will focus on autonomous vehicles, it will also incorporate smart homes that can automatically manage tasks such as waste disposal and refrigerator restocking. Hydrogen will serve as the primary energy source for the city, emphasizing sustainability.
Though financial specifics are yet to be disclosed, the investment in such a significant technological endeavor is expected to reach billions. Toyota has announced plans to issue "Woven Planet Bonds" worth up to 500 billion yen (approximately $4.6 billion) to fund part of the city’s development.
Challenges on the Horizon
This project illustrates the potential of a connected future where autonomous vehicles merge seamlessly with residential and urban infrastructure. However, one major hurdle that Toyota faces is the potential backlash regarding data privacy. The acceptance of these technologies by future residents will be crucial to the project’s success.
NTT has previously secured smart city contracts in the U.S. and Malaysia by assuring that collected data would remain under the ownership of residents and local governments. As we move forward, the balance between innovation and privacy will be a pivotal aspect of the Woven City initiative.
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