Toyota Motor Corporation has opened Woven City, a living laboratory in Japan designed to test autonomous vehicles, robots, and AI systems [1].
The project represents a shift from traditional automotive manufacturing toward a broader mobility ecosystem. By integrating smart infrastructure with residential living, Toyota aims to solve urban challenges and achieve a goal of zero-accident autonomous transport [1], [3].
Located on the former Higashi-Fuji factory site near Mount Fuji, the development covers approximately 175 acres [4], [5]. The project comes six years after President Akio Toyoda first announced the vision in 2020 [1].
Toyota invested $10 billion into the construction of the private utopia [2], [6]. The city serves as a real-world testbed where a small community of residents lives alongside emerging technologies to see how humans and AI can coexist [1], [3].
Infrastructure within the city is designed to support various modes of transport. This includes dedicated paths for autonomous vehicles and pedestrian-only zones, allowing the company to gather data on movement and safety in a controlled yet authentic environment [1], [5].
While the company continues to navigate diverging sales between electric vehicles and hybrids, the Woven City allows Toyota to refine the software and sensors required for the next generation of mobility [6]. The site functions as a permanent research facility where updates to the city's operating system can be deployed in real time [1].
“A living laboratory where autonomous vehicles, robots, AI systems, and smart infrastructure are tested”
The Woven City signals Toyota's transition from a car company to a mobility company. By owning the entire urban environment, Toyota eliminates the unpredictability of public roads during the early stages of AI training, potentially accelerating the deployment of Level 5 autonomy and integrated smart-home robotics.
