CES 2020: Toyota presents production-ready electric vehicles and plans a city of the future

As a nod to its past as a loom manufacturer, the name "Woven City" is to be understood. The city that Toyota plans aims to offer a fully connected ecosystem utilizing hydrogen-powered fuel cells. The model city is designed as a "living laboratory", meant to house both researchers and "ordinary" residents without research activities who can develop and test technologies like autonomy, robotics, personal mobility, smart homes, and artificial intelligence (AI) in a real-world environment.

Toyota is open to collaborations with other commercial and academic partners. Thus, interested scientists and researchers from around the world are invited to work on their own projects in this real-world incubator in city format. Woven City was designed by the Danish architect Bjarke Ingels, CEO of the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), whose team, among other projects, designed the World Trade Center and Google's headquarters. The traffic is also to be segregated: In addition to routes for faster vehicles, there are sections for a mix of lower speed, personal mobility, and pedestrians, as well as for a park-like promenade reserved exclusively for pedestrians. Buildings made primarily of wood, using traditional Japanese wood joinery and robot-supported production methods, are intended to reduce the carbon footprint. The energy supply has also been rethought:
The roofs feature photovoltaic systems to utilize solar power in addition to energy generation from hydrogen fuel cells.

And fitting for the CES, the topic of "Smart Home" is also being pushed further: The homes will be equipped with the latest assistance technologies like in-home robotics to support people. Sensor-based artificial intelligence is intended to monitor the health status of residents and improve daily life. Only autonomous, emission-free vehicles are on the main roads to transport the residents. The Toyota e-Palette will be used for transportation, goods delivery, and mobile retail.

Two neighborhood parks, a large central park for recreation, and a central plaza for social gatherings are meant to bring the community together. Employees and their families, retired couples, retailers, scientists, and industry partners are to live in Woven City. Initially, up to 2,000 people are to move in, with the number gradually increasing over time. The groundbreaking is planned for early 2021. 

What does this mean?

A huge project! After showcasing various electric mobility concepts up to the wheelchair in recent years, Toyota is now planning a much more comprehensive project: A whole city where new technologies and approaches are to be planned and tested live starting in 2021.