Toyota Going Green
27.03 .2020
D he Japanese car company Toyota used the CES 2020 (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas for announcing a major project. It seems as if Toyota not only wants to follow the path to change from car manufacturer to mobility provider announced by many managers, but also thinks beyond that.
The prototype of a city of the future is to be built at the foot of Mount Fuji in Japan. The area of Woven City measures over 70 hectares (700,000 square meters), the construction of which is to begin with the laying of the foundation stone in 2021.
The Danish architect Bjarke Ingels and his office are responsible for the design of the urban development project. Before that, he made a name for himself with the Google headquarters in Mountain View (USA) and London (England) as well as the '2 World Trade Center' in New York City.
Solar energy and fuel cells
2,000 people should initially move into Woven City and use the latest technologies there: Networked houses and apartments, robots and artificial intelligence - among other things to monitor vital functions of residents - should be used in the city and thus tested in everyday life. As a first step, Toyota wants to have its own employees, retirees and partners move in, then the population should continue to grow.
In Woven City, great value is placed on environmental protection. The city should be built sustainably. Most houses are made of wood, and photovoltaic systems on the roofs generate some of the electricity required. The main energy supply will be provided by stationary fuel cells.
Autonomous vehicles in Woven City
Road traffic in Woven City will consist exclusively of fully autonomous and locally emission-free vehicles on the main routes. The streets are divided into three classes. For faster moving cars (e.g. shuttle vehicles), for individual traffic at slower speeds and pedestrians and as pure pedestrian zones.
Toyota presented a further developed version of the e-range at the Tokyo Motor Show in October 2019. This vehicle, a kind of electrical platform for attaching different modules, is to be used in Woven City for the transport of goods and people. The autonomous electric vehicles will also serve as mobile shopping opportunities. In the city of the future, it is not just the goods ordered that come to the customer after shopping online, but the entire businessdrives up.
Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, explains: 'Building an entire city from the groundbreaking ceremony is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies for the local infrastructure. With the networking of people, Buildings and vehicles that all communicate with one another can be tested by AI technology (artificial intelligence, d. V.) both in virtual space and in the real environment. '
Software alliance with NTT
In order to advance digital services in the connected city of the future, Toyota is establishing a business and capital alliance with the Japanese telecommunications provider NTT.
A collaboration in the area of interconnectedness has existed since 2017 Vehicles. The new 'Smart City Platform' software architecture also provides a basis for networking the infrastructure of cars, buildings and artificial intelligence.
