An interactive 3D voxel-based warehouse modeling tool for planning rack layouts, calculating space utilization, and estimating rental costs in real time.
Warehouse space planning was happening on paper. Literally. Someone would sketch a floor plan, estimate how many racks could fit, and then discover during installation that they'd miscalculated clearances or blocked a fire exit. The exact warehouse dimensions were known, but translating those numbers into an optimal layout required trial and error that cost real money every time a rack had to be repositioned. There was also no quick way to calculate how much rentable space a given configuration would yield or what it would cost tenants per cubic meter.
I built a browser-based 3D tool that lets you model the warehouse layout interactively. Place voxels, assign zones, switch between camera angles, and watch the metrics update live. No installation, no CAD software, no learning curve.
What used to take a full day of back and forth between operations and facilities now takes about twenty minutes. Someone can model three different layout options, compare their utilization percentages, and send the JSON files to the team before lunch. The rental cost calculator turned out to be unexpectedly useful for the sales side too. They could show prospective tenants exactly how much space they'd get and what it would cost, right there in the browser during a meeting. The tool paid for itself the first time it caught a layout that would have blocked forklift access to two zones.
3D in the browser is more capable than most people expect, but performance requires discipline. Every voxel is a draw call if you're not careful, so I learned to batch geometry and use instanced meshes early. Zustand was the right call for state management here because the state shape was complex (camera mode, selected zone, voxel grid, metrics) but the access patterns were predictable. I also learned that giving non-technical users two camera modes isn't a luxury. Some people think spatially in orthographic and others need perspective. Offering both meant everyone could actually use the tool without training.