Wow factor of Woven City

UNDER the shadows of Mount Fuji in Japan, a hamlet is taking shape. But it is no ordinary village – it is a city of the future, where robots walk among humans and new technology gets tested even before the world gets to see it.

In short, it is a living laboratory.

Welcome to Toyota’s experimental smart city, Woven City, some 115km away from Tokyo. For now, the city seems a little deserted, with just over 100 residents having moved in.

But it is the beginning of the company’s move to accelerate its transformation from a leading automaker into a mobility technology company through ambitious artificial intelligence (AI)-driven initiatives.

Toyota has so far invested approximately US$10bil in the smart city (also called “test course for mobility”) at the former Higashi-Fuji plant site in Susono City, and this figure is widely cited as the cost associated with completing Phase 1.

The city spans about 708,000 sq m, with Phase 1 covering a smaller initial area (around 47,000 q m for core buildings).

It is designed as a laboratory to test autonomous mobility, robotics, AI, sustainable energy, and connected technologies, with a planned eventual population of 2,000.

The global automaker and its software subsidiary, Woven by Toyota (WbyT), recently unveiled a suite of advanced AI technologies designed to power real-time intelligence, enhance safety, and foster collaborative innovation in a fully operational testbed environment.

Toyota’s senior vice-president Daisuke Toyoda is the man tasked with making Woven City a success. He is also the son of the company’s chairman Akio Toyoda.

“We envisage Woven City as a test lab for Toyota’s products and services before they are introduced to the world.

“It is a real-world testing ground that is going to transform us from an automaker into a mobility company,” he told journalists from around the world who were there.

Toyota calls the residents of this smart city “Weavers” because they actively “weave” together the future of mobility by co-creating, testing, and providing feedback on new technologies, AI, and robotics in daily life.

These residents, including Toyota employees and their families, live in the city to help build a more connected society, often alongside “One Day Weavers” (visitors).

The idea for the smart city came about when the company was about to close its legendary Higashi-Fuji plant. In the town hall to announce the closure, Akio was moved by his employees, many of whom declined to relocate.

“That was the reason we created Woven City. But now, from the perspective of social infrastructure we believe we can get there quicker through this mobility initiative.

“This means making products and services that make it safe for cars, and also pedestrians. In other words, safer for all,” the younger Toyoda said, adding that the world will get to know whatever is achieved at Woven City.

The goal is to co-create solutions addressing everyday societal challenges while enhancing well-being for all.

Unlike traditional research and development or R&D centres, Woven City operates as a living ecosystem with residents, autonomous shuttles, robots, and experimental mobility solutions like the e-Palette autonomous vehicle and the three-wheeled Swake scooter already in testing. Hundreds of cameras and sensors throughout the campus feed data into AI systems, creating a closed-loop environment for rapid iteration.

This setup allows Toyota to bridge the physical and digital worlds, testing technologies in real human contexts rather than simulated ones.

At the heart of recent advancements is the Woven City AI Vision Engine, a large-scale Vision Language Model (VLM) described as one of the world’s leading video-based AI systems.

This foundation model processes visual data from cameras and sensors in real time to understand complex environments, detect patterns, identify risks, and make predictions.

It understands and responds to real-world conditions in real time by analysing visual, behavioral, and environmental data.

The AI Vision Engine powers applications across autonomous driving, robotics, manufacturing, and urban management. In Woven City, it enables the city to “see” and respond dynamically: tracking people and vehicles on 3D maps, coordinating movements, and supporting everything from driver-assist systems to robotic interactions.

Woven City’s AI initiatives come as Toyota intensifies its push into software-defined vehicles, autonomous mobility, amid intense global competition, particularly from Chinese rivals.

By building in-house foundation models and testing them at city scale, Toyota aims to close gaps in vision-based AI while leveraging its strengths in hardware, safety engineering, and real-world reliability.

Success at Woven City could accelerate Toyota’s transition toward a “mobility company” that delivers integrated ecosystems of movement – encompassing cars, robots, data services, and infrastructure – rather than vehicles alone.

Daisuke and other leaders have highlighted the project’s experimental spirit: “Let’s just try it.”

With the on-site Weavers and ongoing open houses for media, investors, and partners, the momentum is building. Woven City is evolving from concept to a vibrant hub where AI helps weave together human-centered innovation.

As Woven City matures, it positions Toyota at the forefront of AI-augmented urban mobility. The integration of real-time vision AI, predictive behaviour modelling, and safety orchestration could set new benchmarks for safe, efficient, and enjoyable movement in cities worldwide.

Toyota is not only accelerating its own innovation pipeline but also inviting the broader ecosystem to help shape a future where technology enhances everyday life without supplanting human experience.

For businesses and partners, Woven City signals an opportunity to engage directly with cutting-edge AI in a living laboratory – potentially unlocking new revenue streams in autonomous services, smart infrastructure, and AI-enabled wellness solutions.

Toyota’s bet on Woven City underscores a clear message: the cities of tomorrow will be woven together by intelligent systems that prioritise safety, sustainability, and human endeavour.