Japanese automotive giant, Toyota, is realizing its vision of the future through the Woven City construction project. Located on the former site of the Higashi-Fuji plant in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture, this smart city (smart city) is designed as a large-scale living laboratory (living laboratory) to test various cutting-edge technological innovations in real-world situations.
The name "Woven City" is derived from the concept of interwoven streets (woven streets). Toyota divides the road infrastructure into three distinct tracks to ensure mobility safety. The first track is dedicated to high-speed electric autonomous vehicles such as the Toyota e-Palette, the second track for micro-mobility vehicles like bicycles and electric scooters, while the third track is fully dedicated to pedestrians to minimize the risk of accidents.
As a hub of innovation, the city integrates artificial intelligence (AI) to manage traffic and energy efficiency. Additionally, all residences are equipped with Internet of Things (IoT) technology to optimize household electricity use. Interestingly, the city's main energy supply relies on eco-friendly hydrogen fuel cell (hydrogen fuel cell) technology.
First introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2020, this ambitious project began its initial construction phase in 2021. In the future, Woven City will be inhabited by thousands of people, including researchers, Toyota employees, families, and industry partners collaborating directly to test technologies before they are mass-released to the global market.
Although centered in Japan, the research and development results in Woven City are gradually being implemented in global commercial product lines, including Indonesia. Active safety technologies such as Toyota Safety Sense (TSS), smart connectivity, and hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) variants are concrete examples of adopting these advanced innovations for consumers' daily mobility needs.
