VR Design System:
Process Flow Visualization
Overview
This immersive VR experience was developed to help stakeholders understand the scale, layout, and operational relationships within a multi-floor pharmaceutical process facility. By transforming engineering designs into a navigable environment, users could explore how solutions moved through interconnected equipment—including the CIP Reactor, Vent Trap Condenser, Hold Test Purge systems, N₂ Blowdown processes, and Gross Transfer operations—while experiencing the facility at true scale.
Company: GMP Engineering Inc
Role: VR Developer
Platform: VR (Quest 2)
Tools: Unity, C#, Final IK, Realtime Normcore, Maya
Challenge
Understanding process flow within a pharmaceutical production facility can be difficult when relying solely on CAD models, piping diagrams, and engineering documentation. While these resources communicate technical specifications, they often fail to convey how equipment connects across multiple floors or how solutions move through the system as a complete operational process.
The challenge was to create an immersive environment that allowed stakeholders to visualize facility scale, understand equipment relationships, and follow solution pathways through the production process from start to finish.
My Contributions:
Environment & Asset Preparation
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Integrated engineering CAD assets into Unity-based VR environments.
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Organized large CAD datasets into manageable scene components in Maya to support development workflows.
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Prepared assets for real-time interaction while preserving key visual and engineering details.
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Established a stable foundation for environment development and system implementation.
Process Flow Visualization
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Developed visual systems to communicate solution movement throughout the facility.
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Implemented support for multiple operational process paths.
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Enabled stakeholders to follow solution flow across interconnected equipment and multiple facility levels.
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Improved understanding of process relationships that are difficult to visualize through traditional engineering documentation.
Interactive Equipment Exploration
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Implemented interactive elements allowing users to investigate major process equipment.
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Provided contextual information for production systems and workflows.
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Supported stakeholder understanding through direct interaction.
Environment Integration
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Constructed a cohesive three-floor facility experience.
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Maintained accurate equipment placement and spatial relationships.
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Reinforced stakeholder understanding of facility scale and navigation.
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Integrated process systems into a unified environment.
Reusable Frameworks
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Leveraged previously developed character selection and user setup systems to accelerate development
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Reused XR interaction components established in earlier projects, reducing implementation time and ensuring consistency.
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Built upon an existing framework architecture rather than recreating core systems for each new experience.
Project Evolution
1. Environment Preparation
Development began by integrating engineering CAD assets into Unity and organizing the facility into manageable scene components. Establishing a structured environment was essential for visualizing equipment relationships, navigating the facility at scale, and supporting the process visualization systems developed throughout the experience.
2. Flow Analysis & Interpretation
Using labeled facility models and process spreadsheets, I identified active pipe networks and equipment relationships for each operational configuration. This analysis established the foundation for process-specific flow visualizations throughout the facility.
Analyze
Review facility models and process data
Identify
Determine active equipment and pipe networks
Map
Establish solution pathways and system relationships
Visualize
Implement process flows within VR
3. Flow Visualization Development
Once process pathways were identified, visualization systems were developed to communicate solution movement throughout the facility. The goal was to help stakeholders understand where processes originated, how systems connected, and how materials moved through equipment across multiple facility levels.
Hold Test Purge
This visualization highlighted the solution pathway used during Hold Test Purge operations, allowing stakeholders to follow process routing and understand how equipment interacted throughout the workflow.
Vent Trap Condenser
This visualization demonstrated how solutions moved through the Vent Trap Condenser system, providing stakeholders with a clear understanding of equipment relationships and process flow within the larger production environment.
N₂ Blowdown
This configuration visualized the flow path used during N₂ Blowdown operations, helping users understand how interconnected equipment supported product transfer and process progression throughout the facility.
4. Interaction & Exploration
Interactive elements enabled users to explore equipment, understand system relationships, and follow solution pathways throughout the facility. Rather than relying solely on engineering documentation, stakeholders could investigate systems directly and observe how equipment contributed to larger operational workflows.
To support stakeholder understanding, the experience focused on:
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Enabling user-driven exploration of facility systems.
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Providing contextual understanding of major process equipment.
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Reinforcing relationships between equipment, piping networks, and solution pathways.
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Improving accessibility of complex engineering concepts through interaction.
5. Iteration & Refinement
As development progressed, visualization systems were refined to better communicate process flow, equipment relationships, and operational workflows. The goal was to make complex engineering information understandable without sacrificing technical accuracy.
Areas of focus included:
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Improving visualization clarity.
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Reinforcing system relationships.
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Simplifying stakeholder-facing information.
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Enhancing overall usability and comprehension.
Outcome
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Created an immersive VR experience that visualized solution flow across a multi-floor pharmaceutical facility.
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Enabled stakeholders to understand equipment relationships, process pathways, and facility scale in a way that traditional engineering documentation could not.
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Transformed complex production workflows into an accessible and interactive experience.
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Provided a clear visualization of systems including the CIP Reactor, Vent Trap Condenser, Hold Test Purge, N₂ Blowdown, and Gross Transfer processes.
Reflection
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Strengthened my ability to translate complex engineering concepts into intuitive VR experiences.
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Reinforced the value of visualizing process data within the context of a full-scale environment.
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Demonstrated the importance of balancing technical accuracy with user comprehension.
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Expanded my experience designing reusable systems and frameworks that could be leveraged across multiple projects.