TopRack Studio

2D visualization and editor of a data center plan
Starting screen for project initialization
Project setup
Project setup
Advanced options for project

Inspiration

After hearing the Siemens challenge, we were immediately excited - it sounded like the kind of problem that would push us to grow technically and creatively. We decided to bring a full VR setup all the way from Bulgaria just for this hackathon, knowing we had never developed for VR before. That was the point: to challenge ourselves and learn something entirely new.

What it does

TopRack Studio is a data center planning tool that combines a real-time 2D layout editor with immersive 3D visualization through a VR headset. Sales teams can drag and drop modules in a scanned room layout via a web app, while clients wearing the VR headset can instantly see the changes from a first-person perspective. It enables live collaboration and brings data center design to life.

How we built it

We built the frontend using React and Leaflet for the 2D visualization, combined with a drag-and-drop interface for placing modules in the room. Room coordinates are extracted from a VR scan and converted into a sandbox-style grid. We also integrated Unity to power the 3D VR experience, which communicates with the 2D layout. The 3D scene updates dynamically as the layout is modified in the browser.

Challenges we ran into

Everything related to VR was a challenge—from setup and integration to designing an intuitive user experience—mainly because it was new territory for us. Despite that, we were able to quickly adapt and make solid progress.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

Getting a fully functional VR experience up and running in less than 36 hours.
Building seamless interaction between the web interface and the Unity 3D scene.
Creating a tool that is both technically challenging and genuinely useful in a real-world sales and planning context.

What we learned

The basics of VR development in Unity and integrating it with data-driven layouts.
Designing user interfaces that are intuitive in both 2D and 3D contexts.
How to work under pressure, prioritize features, and collaborate efficiently as a team.

What's next for TopRack Studio

We plan to implement real-time synchronization between the web app and VR scene so that 100 % of the live collaboration's potential is used. We want to add multi-user support, better visuals in VR, and more configuration options. Long-term, we see TopRack Studio evolving into a flexible sales and planning platform for data center infrastructures and who knows, maybe even beyond!