Crazy futuristic city being populated by people willing to leave the real world behind

There is a futuristic city designed and built from the ground up in Japan to test the latest technologies.

Far from a traditional testing ground, this is a fully functional urban environment designed for real people to live, work and play while contributing to groundbreaking research.

Woven City isn't just for robots and tech; it's designed for people. The initial residents, expected to move in this fall, will be around 100 strong, primarily Toyota and "WbyT" (Woven by Toyota) employees and their families. The community will then expand to around 360 residents during its first phase. Eventually, the city plans to house around 2,000 people, including inventors, weavers and visitors.

"Inventors" include Toyota employees, startups and entrepreneurs focused on mobility solutions. "Weavers" are residents and visitors who will collaborate with inventors by testing new products and services. There are already several partner companies involved, including a soft drink company, a coffee company, an instant noodle company, an air-conditioning company and an educational company.

Woven City's design incorporates a unique street system, separating traffic based on speed and usage to promote safety and efficiency. There are three types of streets:

Dedicated to faster vehicles: This lane is designated for autonomous vehicles and is optimized for the efficient and safe movement of goods and people.

Mixed-use street: This lane allows for a mix of lower-speed mobility, such as bicycles, scooters and other personal mobility devices, alongside pedestrians.

Pedestrian-only park: Designed exclusively for pedestrians.

This layered approach ensures a balanced environment where different modes of transportation can coexist safely and sustainably, reflecting Woven City's human-centered design philosophy.

The heart of Woven City is "co-creation." It's about bringing together diverse groups of people to develop human-centered solutions for societal challenges. Instead of testing in isolated labs, inventors can see how their products integrate into daily life. 

To support this, Woven City offers the "Woven Inventor Garage," providing access to cutting-edge technologies. One cool example is the "Digital Twin," a virtual simulation of the city where inventors can model scenarios and test products on a digital platform before deploying them in the real world.

So, what kind of innovations are being tested? Here are some of Toyota's pioneering efforts:

Mobility of goods & people: Testing Toyota's e-Palette for automated transport, like bus services and mobile retail.

Smart logistics: Using delivery robots linked to smartphone apps to automate the transportation of goods.

Next-gen remote communications: Developing technologies to foster emotional connections between people who are physically apart, enhancing screen time for individual growth and social connections.

It's interesting to note that Toyota's roots aren't just in cars. The company's founder, Sakichi Toyoda, revolutionized the textile industry with inventions that eased his mother's work on a manual loom. This "for others" philosophy continues to drive Toyota's initiatives, from automobiles to Woven City.

Woven City signifies Toyota's commitment to shaping the future of mobility and creating a better world through innovation. As the first residents move in and the city continues to evolve, it will be interesting to watch how this "living laboratory" redefines what's possible.

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