Japan is often known as a country at the cutting edge, so it is perhaps not entirely surprising that Nikkei Asia is now reporting that a university, the Institute of Science Tokyo, is interested in building a kind of enclave in Tokyo that will be extremely high-tech and rely on AI and robots.
The idea is that the area will include, among other things, a 39-story high-rise equipped with everything we normally associate with science fiction. This includes self-driving cars, robots that grow vegetables, and a focus on residents' health - such as serving each person individually tailored, optimal meals.
In addition, humanoid robots will walk around the area and serve residents in various ways, while drones will be used for tasks such as delivering packages. This is not a distant future vision either; plans are already in place for parts of the project to be realized as early as 2031.
Around 70 companies are reported to be involved in the plans, with Hitachi and SoftBank, for example, mentioned by name.
