Toyota built a $10 billion private utopia—what’s going on in there?
Toyota has invested $10 billion in Woven City, a high-tech urban development designed to test future mobility and smart city technologies. The city is equipped with extensive sensor networks and autonomous transport options, aiming to advance safety and innovation. However, its dense surveillance infrastructure has raised significant privacy concerns among residents and observers.
- ▪Woven City is built on the site of a former Toyota factory and hosts 100 handpicked residents known as 'Weavers.'
- ▪Residents can use autonomous e-Palette buses or three-wheeled 'Swakes' for transportation within the compact city.
- ▪The city features a dense network of cameras feeding into the Woven City AI Vision Engine, which tracks movement without facial recognition.
- ▪Toyota aims to create a 'society with zero accidents' by integrating vehicle-to-everything communication and advanced sensor systems.
- ▪Japanese and European respondents in Toyota's surveys expressed strong concerns about data privacy and the use of surveillance technology.
Opening excerpt (first ~120 words) tap to expand
robots ahoy! Toyota built a $10 billion private utopia—what’s going on in there? Woven City is a privacy nightmare but could be helpful to an OEM desperate to be more. TIm Stevens – May 4, 2026 7:00 am | 43 Residents of Toyota's Woven City can ride around the place on three-wheeled "Swakes" or take the e-Palatte buses. Or walk, since it's quite compact right now. Credit: Toyota Residents of Toyota's Woven City can ride around the place on three-wheeled "Swakes" or take the e-Palatte buses. Or walk, since it's quite compact right now.
…
Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at Ars Technica - All content.
Discussion
0 commentsMore from Ars Technica - All content
