Toyota, the world’s top-selling carmaker, opened its new high-tech experimental village in Japan on Thursday — a pioneering project designed to test autonomous driving and other cutting-edge innovations.
Dubbed Woven City, the site aims to serve as a real-world laboratory for futuristic technologies, ranging from flying taxis and robot pets to drones that can escort residents home at night.
Around 360 Toyota employees and company partners will soon move into the first smart homes within the development.
“This is a test course for the future, not just a town,” Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda said at the opening ceremony, according to national broadcaster NHK.
Built on the site of a former Toyota factory at the foot of Mount Fuji, the community is expected to grow to around 2,000 residents in the coming years.
Toyoda has described the project as a “living laboratory” where residents volunteer to participate in experiments, providing valuable feedback to inventors and engineers.
“Homes in Woven City will eventually serve as test sites for future technology, such as in-home robotics to support everyday life,” he said in January, citing examples like robots capable of folding clothes.
The ambitious project, first announced in 2020, is led by Toyoda’s son, Daisuke Toyoda.
“Much like test drivers for cars, our residents will be the ones who use and experience the new products and services our inventors develop,” he explained.
Toyota will also use Woven City to test its e-Palette self-driving buses and a range of autonomous logistics and transportation systems, underscoring its commitment to shaping the future of urban mobility.