The book outlines the concept of the Automated City, in the context of smart city research and development. While there have been many other perspectives on the smart city such as the participatory city and the data-centric city, this book focuses on automation for the smart city based on current and emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. The book attempts to provide a balanced view, outlining the promises and potential of the Automated City as well as the perils and challenges of widespread automation in the city. The book discusses, at some depth, automated vehicles, urban robots and urban drones as emerging technologies that will automate many aspects of city life and operation, drawing on current work and research literature. The book also considers broader perspectives of the future city, in the context of automation in the smart city, including aspirational visions of cities, transportation, new business models, and socio-technological challenges, from urban edge computing, ethics of the Automated City and smart devices, to large scale cooperating autonomous systems in the city.

本書は、単なる技術論の枠を超え、自律走行車や都市ロボットが遍在する未来を一つの「生態系」として描き出す知の冒険書です。AIやIoTが都市の毛細血管まで行き渡ることで生活がどう変容するのか。著者はその輝かしい利便性だけでなく、倫理的課題や社会的な歪みという影の部分にも深く切り込み、冷徹かつ情熱的な眼差しで近未来の肖像を彫り上げています。 都市そのものが自律的な意志を持ち始める。その壮大なビジョンに触れたとき、読者は現代社会の定義が足元から崩れ、再構築される感覚を味わうはずです。技術と人間が共生する新たな地平を鋭く見据えた本作は、未来の設計図であると同時に、私たちの存在の在り方を問い直す、極めて思弁的で魅力に満ちた一冊といえます。