Inside world’s £7.8billion futuristic city with driverless cars built near volcano – & is due to be completed this year

THE world's most futuristic smart city is set to be completed later this year.

Toyota's vision of Woven City, a sustainable utopia featuring driverless cars, will serve 2,000 people participating in a mass human experiment.

The car manufacturer plans to use their Japanese metropolis at the foot of Mt. Fuji to run tests for their network of renewable, energy-efficient, autonomous vehicles.

When Woven City is complete, the vehicles - dubbed E-palettes - will be guided by sensors in lights, buildings and roads throughout the city.

Their vehicles will travel along a separate road made solely for them, while pedestrians and cyclists will also have their own separate roads.

Toyota hopes that their latest smart city will offer them a continuous data stream that helps them to better understand local and traffic trends.

But, the company's plans for the future hardly stop there.

The revolutionary project is also expected to feature "smart homes".

Sensors will be embedded in all aspects of life in the system, in parks , buildings, watering systems, etc.

The entire city will run on hydrogen, in an attempt to reduce emissions and be as clean and cost effective as possible.

The firm is aiming for Woven City to become the most hydrogen-based society in the world.

Toyota's president Akio Toyoda said: "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.

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

The plan, officially, is being envisaged as a "living laboratory".

While many of the buildings in the city will be built from wood using ancient Japanese woodworking techniques, the heavy labour will be carried out by robots.

Toyota first began construction on their Japanese metropolis back in 2021, and after three years of work, they expect to open it later in 2024.

Woven City will initially host a population of 360 people - some of which will be Toyota employees - but they expect to fit 2,000 residents in the city in the future.

At just 175 acres (0.2 square miles), and costing its developers £7.8 billion, Woven City certainly seems to be the greenest futuristic city.

Take "The Line" for example. This city will stretch across 170 kilometres of desert, costing its Saudi developers a whopping £1 trillion to build.

According to designers, exciting features of the city will include an artificial moon, flying taxis and robot security - to name just a few of the mind-boggling aspects.

Recent developments have also seen plans for an adventure hotel carved into a cliff face where guests will be able to rock climb.

Saudi is also planning for a luxury island in the Red Sea - which is set to be one of the Middle East's most ambitious urban developments planned by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Concept pictures of the holiday destination showed the island full of grand villas where visitors can enjoy ocean views.

The buildings are refined and polished with modern architecture design and there is plenty of greenery to balance out the mega-city.

Saudi's futuristic cities are also expected to open in 2024.