Toyota Is Using Artificial Intelligence To Build A New City

Are you ready to co-exist with artificial intelligence and robots?

 Toyota, one of the biggest automobile manufacturers is employing artificial intelligence to make a futuristic city for 2,000 staff members and families. Yes, of course, the city will be powered by robots as well. The city will be governed by an operating system and will have roads dedicated for self-driving vehicles to carry on without any hassle.

Toyota has begun laying the foundation for a 175-acre smart city in Japan. The company says that artificial intelligence and futuristic technologies will act as a 'living laboratory" which raises many eyebrows. Being built at the base of Mount Fuji, the "Woven City" will be situated approximately 62 miles from Tokyo.

The aim of building such a city is to serve as a testing ground for modern technology that can be established across other urban environments like robotics, AI, and interconnected smart homes.

Toyota announced this futuristic project at CES 2020 in January last year. The company had said that the city will have three types of roads which will be connected at the ground level – one road for pedestrians, one for pedestrians using their personal vehicles like e-scooters, and one road just for self-driving cars. While these roads will be for the public, the city will also have one conventional road underneath the city that will be used to move goods.

In 2018, Toyota launches its self-driving vehicle, the e-Palette which is expected to be the Woven City project's main transport. Toyota said that their e-Palette is "scalable and customizable" for various functions like ride-sharing, delivery services, mobile offices, and even hotels.

The 2,000 staff and families will live in smart homes with AI technology and various integrated robotic systems to assist everyday life and sensor-based artificial intelligence to monitor people's health and other basic needs.

The project is divided into phases and the first phase will have about 360 residents of varying age groups, rising to 2,000 including a few Toyota employees and their families along with scientists and inventors who will keep checking the effectiveness of the technological solutions.

Will all the futuristic technology cause hindrance to human connections? Toyota has said "encouraging human connection will be an equally important aspect of this experience. Building a complete city from the ground up, even on a small scale like this is a unique opportunity to develop future technologies, including a digital operating system for the city's infrastructure."

About the AI technology, Mr Toyoda said, "With people, buildings, and vehicles all connected and communicating with each other through data sensors, we will be able to test connected AI technology, in both the virtual and the physical realms, maximizing its potential.

Concept Of An Interconnected Smart Home

A smart home lets the homeowner control all the smart devices remotely from anywhere with a steady internet connection. This means that a person can control security functions, temperature, lighting, etc. remotely.  Smart home devices come with self-learning skills to learn the owner's schedules and make choices on their own accordingly. If a smart home is fitting with smart lights, it automatically turns the light on and off, saving electricity. Smart home security systems intimate the owner when it detects an expected motion. These small yet effective conveniences make human lives easier.