Toyota to build ‘city of future’
A prototype city will house around 2000 people and serve as a test ground for robotics, self-driving cars and smart homes, write and
Toyota Motor Corporation plans to start construction of a prototype ‘‘city of the future’’ featuring state-of-theart technology near Mt Fuji early next year.
Toyota made the announcement in Las Vegas, in the United States, just before the launch of the Consumer Electronics Show.
Other major Japanese auto manufacturers and electric appliance makers also revealed their future designs and technologies at the show.
Toyota will conduct feasibility tests in the prototype city to connect self-driving vehicle operations, household equipment, robots and other elements with the internet.
The prototype city will be built on the site of a Toyota factory in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, that will close at the end of this year.
About 2000 Toyota employees and others will live in the connected city, which will cover about 700,000 square metres, almost the size of Meiji Jingu shrine in Tokyo.
In the tests, Toyota plans to use its e-Palette electric vehicles now under development, and have them autonomously run in the city not only as a means of transportation, but also as travelling shops and for other purposes.
It will construct buildings mainly with wood, and use fuel cells and solar power generation for environmental sustainability.
Speaking in Las Vegas, Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda said: ‘‘Building a complete city from the ground up is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies.’’
Amid the changing environment for automobile manufacturers, Toyota has indicated its intention to shift from an automaker to a company that provides various types of transportation services.
Also at the exhibition, Sony Corp unveiled a prototype electric vehicle equipped with about 30 Sony sensors to detect people and objects, to support safe driving.
It aims to conduct a test run of the electric vehicle on public roads this year.