Toyota has just opened a mini city in Japan where employees will move into smart homes, use electric cars...
Car manufacturer Toyota has built a mini city in Japan where thousands of employees will be moved in to test a raft of future technology, including e-mobility vehicles.
The world's most prolific car seller this week unveiled its 'Woven City' - the first purpose-built high-tech village that will become an experimental test bed for autonomous driving, robotics and smart home features.
A cluster of hydrogen-powered homes, which has been built on the grounds of Toyota's disused factory at the base of Mount Fuji, has already welcomed its first members of staff and their families, which will be made up of inventors and 'weavers' - the term used for those living in the properties.
Bosses at the car giant have touted the village as a real-life setting in which to trial myriad inventions, from flying taxis to robot pets and drones that escort you home at night.
It's easy to understand what this is about from a Toyota research and development standpoint, but there is a heavily idealised social aspect to it too. What lies beyond the 'Woven City'?
Factories, farms, mines and waste disposal for example, they seem to lie well beyond Woven City.
4 comments:
"...A cluster of hydrogen-powered homes..."
As Jerry Pournelle used to say, could someone please tell me where the Hydrogen wells are?
Peter - aren't they somewhere near the jam butty mines?
In this country (UK or Britain) truly benevolent employers used to do this. From own experience New Lanark. But I am sure that Cadbury / Rowantree did the same thing. You will know of others. They were not intended to get a compliant community of workers and consumers. Mostly / all Quakers / Friends.
Other communities grew up round the only industry - no Machiavellian planning. Swindon.
So do not assume avaricious motives for Toyota's actions.
Yet.
Doonhamer - Saltaire is another example and Cromford still has houses built by Arkwright for the workers. The Toyota motives don't seem to be avaricious, but the village idea seems too artificial to me, putting the technical ideas into an unreal environment.
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