Less than four years after announcing plans to build a "smart city" near Mount Fuji in Japan, Toyota Corporation, which is implementing the project, said it will soon welcome new residents to the "living laboratory." This new city will resemble a scientific laboratory, where robots, unmanned vehicles, hydrogen energy and numerous artificial intelligence developments will work to ensure a comfortable life for residents. 
According to preliminary estimates, the total cost of construction of the "smart city" is 10.13 billion US dollars. The area of the new city is only 708,000 square meters, because it was built on the site of the former Toyota plant, which closed four years ago after an earthquake and tsunami, reports Interesting Engineering. Toyota notes that all construction work is almost complete, and the company plans to settle the first residents by the end of 2024 so that they can test the city and give experts the opportunity to collect data on the mobility of all technologies. 
The developers named the Japanese miracle city "Woven City", where everything is "woven" in detail to ensure the most comfortable life. Residents will live in environmentally friendly "smart" houses built from wood, which run mainly on water and are equipped with solar panels. The "woven city" is divided into three zones: for pedestrians, for autonomous vehicles and routes for active travel options - on bicycles, scooters, rollerblades, etc. To realize its dream of the city of the future, Toyota cooperates with the international architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), known for its innovative construction technologies. 
"Building an entire city from scratch, even on such a small scale as this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies," explained Toyota President Akio Toyoda. According to the developers' plan, the "Woven City" should become a platform for joint creativity of inventors and residents who share Toyota's passion for inventing something new. According to the company's executives, Toyota aims to evolve from the car to the "mobility" company, redefining "movement" from simply transporting people using cars to improving lives by providing efficient, practical and enjoyable mobility for people, goods, information and energy.
Researchers and companies from all over the world will have the opportunity to work on projects in the new city related to personal mobility, unmanned technologies, artificial intelligence and robotics. "The multifaceted support for advanced specialists provided by Woven City will accelerate the development of innovative technologies and services that will redefine the future of mobility and promote well-being for all," Toyota executives emphasize.
