Jan 08 (theguardian.com) - Toyota has unveiled plans to build a sustainable “city of the future†near Mount Fuji that will run on hydrogen fuel cells and become a living laboratory for self-driving vehicles, robotics and artificial intelligence.
The Japanese carmaker said Woven City, covering 70hectares on the site of a factory that is due for closure, would be home to full-time residents and researchers. The name is a reference to the firm’s origins as a loom manufacturer.
The prototype city, announced at the CES technology show in Las Vegas, will host a futuristic community that will cut carbon dioxide emissions from vehicles and buildings and use internet technology in practically every aspect of daily life.
Toyota said about 2,000 people, mostly the firm’s employees, would live in the city to begin with and construction was due to start next year.
The city was designed by Bjarke Ingels, the Danish architect whose firm was behind the 2 World Trade Centre building in New York and Google’s offices in Silicon Valley and London.
