A ROBOTIC utopia built at the foot of an active volcano is preparing for residents to move in as part of a “mass experiment”.
Designed by the car brand Toyota, Woven City is just a few miles away from Mount Fuji, Japan, and has been under construction since 2021.
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The futuristic city will act as a “living laboratory” for the company to test its renewable and energy-efficient self-driving cars dubbed ‘E-palettes’.
The first 2,000 residents are set to move in by the end of the year as part of an £8billion study to understand patterns in driver and pedestrian behaviour.
Once inside the robo-town, the participants will live inside stunning new “smart homes” running almost entirely on hydrogen making the city as eco-friendly as possible.
Each residence will be kitted out with solar-panel rooftops, AI tech to monitor health inside the home and all vehicles and buildings will be connected through data and sensors, Toyota boss Akio Toyoda explains.
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Houses, made mostly from wood, will include in-home robotics to “assist with daily living” helping residents to be more independent.
The President said: “Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this, is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies…”
“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 physical realms, maximising its potential.”
Streets will be split into three types, pedestrian-only areas, roads for fast-moving traffic and streets for a mix of lower-speed vehicles.
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Only zero-emissions motors will be allowed with special vehicles for the elderly and support for wheelchair users.
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Stunning blueprints show the experimental city’s grid-like shape with natural open spaces to promote social gathering in the space-age town.
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The car brand has commissioned Danish architect Bjarke Ingels – whose previous projects include the Two World Trade Centres, the Lego House in Denmark and Google’s Mountain View.
The designer said: “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.”
Toyota will move 2,000 lab rats into the Woven City, ranging from families to retired couples and retailers to scientists before more residents will be invited to join.
The site of the new-age experiment is at the foot of Mout Fuji – an active volcano that last erupted 300 years ago.
While it’s been some time since its last blast, experts fear a full-scale eruption could be devastating.
Government data suggested that in the event of an eruption, ash would likely fall for two weeks leaving residents unable to receive supplies and forcing 26 million to evacuate.
Toshitsugu Fujii, a retired professor at the University of Tokyo, said: “Three centuries have passed since the Hoei eruption, and it is possible that magma is accumulating. So, there is no surprise that it could erupt at any time.”
A billionaire in the US also has plans for his own futuristic desert megacity dubbed “Telosa”.
Entrepreneur, businessman, and investor, Marc Lore has set his sights on a new project that will rival floating cities like Oceanix Busan, South Korea, and elongated cities like The Line, Saudi Arabia.
This is no cheap venture, and “Telosa City” is expected to cost around $400 billion.
Marc’s city of the future takes its name from an ancient Greek word used by Aristotle and means “highest goal”.
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Marc is aiming to ensure that Telosa is a 15-minute city – meaning that the population should find everything they need on a daily basis in their vicinity.
A large “Equity” skyscraper is also due to become Telosa’s landmark.
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