Toyota to Build Smart City Near Mt. Fuji as a 'Living Laboratory' for Technology

By John Loeffler

Toyota announced that they will be building Woven City near Mt. Fuji on 175-acres to serve as a laboratory for autonomous vehicles, home robotics, and other technologies.

Toyota announced at CES 2020 that they will be building a smart city from the ground up on a 175-acre site next to Mt. Fuji in order to create a "living laboratory" for new technologies.

Toyota's Woven City to become a living testing ground for everything from home robotics to autonomous vehicles

Toyota Motor Corporation announced at CES 2020 that it is planning to build a smart city from the ground up at the base of Mt. Fuji as a testing ground for new technologies. Named "Woven City," the 175-acre site is being described as a "living laboratory" where important new techologies can be tested in a real-world environment.

"Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city's infrastructure," said Toyota president Aiko Toyoda. "With people, buildings and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through data and sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology... in both the virtual and the physical realms... maximizing its potential."

The company has extended an open invitation to start-ups, industry, and academic institutions from around the world to participate in the project.

"We welcome all those inspired to improve the way we live in the future, to take advantage of this unique research ecosystem and join us in our quest to create an ever-better way of life and mobility for all," Toyoda said.

Woven City is being designed by renown Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, the CEO of Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG). BIG is most well known for its work designing 2 World Trade Center in New York City, Lego House in Denmark, and both the Mountain View, California and the London headquarters for Google.

"A swarm of different technologies are beginning to radically change how we inhabit and navigate our cities. Connected, autonomous, emission-free and shared mobility solutions are bound to unleash a world of opportunities for new forms of urban life," Ingels said. "With the breadth of technologies and industries that we have been able to access and collaborate with from the Toyota ecosystem of companies, we believe we have a unique opportunity to explore new forms of urbanity with the Woven City that could pave new paths for other cities to explore."

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