Toyota has started building a "smart city" which will include self-driving cars, robotics and AI homes.

Construction began this week at the base of Japan's Mount Fuji, and has been dubbed the "Woven City."

The 175-acre city, around 62 miles from Tokyo, is set to function as a technological testing ground, with 360 residents to test and develop the tech.

This includes inventors, senior citizens, families and children, who will test technologies like robotics, artificial intelligence and smart homes.

Eventually, the city will be home to around 2,000 Toyota employees, reports Business Insider.

Other aspects of the Woven City include hydrogen fuel cells and it is reported the city will be fully sustainable.

The smart city is now under construction and will be fully sustainable
The smart city is now under construction and will be fully sustainable

In order to be fully sustainable, building will be made out of wood to minimise carbon footprint.

The smart homes will assist with daily living and use sensor-based AI to monitor health and take care of basic needs, according to Toyota.

The 2,000 residents are expected to eventually include employees, retired couples, retailers and scientists as well as families.

The city will have buildings made of wood to reduce carbon footprint
The city will have buildings made of wood to reduce carbon footprint

The plans for the city was first unveiled last year at CES, a tech trade show in Las Vegas, but news of the updated plans were released this week.

The company released artist impressions of what the city is set to look like when it's finished.

After construction began this week, on the site of one of Toyato's former manufacturing plants named Higashi-Fuji, the organisation did not disclose who the first residents will be.

However, the cost of the project is unknown and Toyota has not yet given a date for completion, although residents will be able to move in the next five years.

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It is unclear when the city will be open and fully constructed
It is unclear when the city will be open and fully constructed

The project has been a topic of concern, with critics saying it should focus on the human aspect rather than technology.

John Jung, founder of the Intelligent Community Forum think tank, told Bloomberg in January 2020: "If it's not started from a human-centric perspective, from the bottom up as opposed to from the top down, these aren't real cities.

"They're not designed to get [people] to know each other."

The smart city will include multiple parks and a central plaza
The smart city will include multiple parks and a central plaza

But the company said the high-tech homes and smart city will promote human connection, but have not released plans on how to encourage this.

Plans include multiple parks and a large central plaza for social gatherings.

In a speech to mark the start of its construction on February 23, Akio Toyoda said: "Today, as we hold a ground-breaking ceremony, I would like to express my appreciation to the people of Susono City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and other local communities, as well as our construction partners, who have given us tremendous support for the Woven City project.

Toyota says the city will include high-tech homes that use AI tech to support residents
Toyota says the city will include high-tech homes that use AI tech to support residents

"It is not easy to proceed with things as planned under the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to all those involved in the project for their hard efforts to make this happen."

What do you think about the smart city? Let us know in the comments below