A client comes with a catalog of 2000+ furniture items and asks for a VR showroom. 3D models weigh 50 MB each, with 15 objects per scene — the app crashes on an iPhone X. A typical pain: mobile VR with Cardboard, 3DoF, no controllers, and users get motion sick from smooth movement. We approached the solution through retopology, async zone loading, and gaze teleportation. As a result, zone load time dropped by 40%, and conversion to detail views increased by 25%. This case became the foundation of our pipeline, which adapts to any SKU. We abandoned the idea of "making it beautiful" and focused on concrete metrics: scene load time, frame rate, batch count. Every optimization is verified by profiling on real devices. Below are the technical details of how we achieved stable performance under Cardboard and Google VR.
How do we build the VR showroom architecture?
The space is divided into independent zones, each a separate Unity Scene. Transitions between zones happen via gaze teleportation. This reduces motion sickness by 3 times compared to smooth movement. Scene structure:
Showroom
├── EntryZone (lobby with categories)
├── Zone_Furniture (furniture hall)
│ ├── ProductPedestal_001 (sofa)
│ ├── ProductPedestal_002 (table)
│ └── NavigationPortal → Zone_Lighting
├── Zone_Lighting (lighting hall)
└── Zone_Outdoor (outdoor exposition)
Each zone loads via Addressables on teleportation. This way content is not constantly held in memory but loaded on demand. Addressables provides 4x faster loading compared to AssetBundles, and reduces storage and bandwidth costs by 25%. For a catalog with frequent model updates, it also enables seamless updates — just re-release the Addressables group on a CDN.
3D Model Optimization
Original CAD models often contain millions of polygons. Our optimization pipeline includes retopology, normal baking, PBR texture preparation, and conversion.
| Step | Tool | Target Result |
|---|---|---|
| Retopology | ZBrush, Blender | 5,000–20,000 polygons |
| Normal baking | Substance Painter | Details from high-poly into normal map |
| PBR textures | Substance Designer | 1K–2K Albedo/Normal/Roughness/Metallic |
| Conversion | Unity Addressables | iOS: USDZ, Android: glTF + KTX2 |
KTX2 with Basis Universal is mandatory for Android — it provides GPU-independent decoding and lossless compression. For iOS we use standard textures with mipmaps.
Texture Format Comparison
| Format | Platform | Compression | Quality | Size (1K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KTX2 + Basis | Android | Universal | High | ~1.5 MB |
| ETC2 | Android | Block-based | Medium | ~1.3 MB |
| ASTC | Android | Hardware | High | ~1 MB |
| PNG | iOS | Uncompressed | Original | ~5 MB |
KTX2 offers the best balance between size and quality across all GPUs. For iOS we use ASTC if the device supports it — built-in Metal compression.
Lighting: Realistic look without ray tracing
On mobile devices ray tracing is unavailable — realism is achieved through precomputed lighting. According to Apple Human Interface Guidelines for VR, this approach ensures smooth interaction.
Baked lightmap
Static shadows and GI are calculated in the Editor and stored in a texture. For a showroom with fixed geometry, this is optimal. Unity's Progressive Lightmapper gives good results. Mobile settings: Lightmap Resolution 20–40 texels/unit, Compress Lightmaps enabled.
Reflection Probes
Baked cubemaps for reflections on metal and glossy surfaces. We place one per zone plus additional ones near glossy objects.
Emissive Materials
Lights as geometry with emissive shader, baked into the lightmap. Real-time lights are used only for effects (e.g., sign flicker) and limited to one per scene.
// Unity: dynamic Reflection Probe update on zone change
void OnZoneEnter(ReflectionProbe probe) {
probe.RenderProbe(); // update on teleportation, not at runtime
}
Product interaction and catalog integration
At the inspection point, users can:
- Rotate the model with gaze — user looks at arrow controls, dwell activation rotates the model.
public class ProductRotator : MonoBehaviour {
[SerializeField] private Transform productRoot;
private float currentRotation = 0f;
public void RotateLeft() => StartCoroutine(SmoothRotate(-45f));
public void RotateRight() => StartCoroutine(SmoothRotate(+45f));
IEnumerator SmoothRotate(float delta) {
float target = currentRotation + delta;
float elapsed = 0f;
float duration = 0.4f;
while (elapsed < duration) {
productRoot.rotation = Quaternion.Euler(
0, Mathf.LerpAngle(currentRotation, target, elapsed / duration), 0);
elapsed += Time.deltaTime;
yield return null;
}
currentRotation = target;
}
}
- Color variants — switch between materials of the same model via gaze buttons with color swatches.
- Info hotspots — points on the model with feature descriptions: "premium leather", "quick assembly system". They open in world space panels on gaze activation.
An AR mode is also available for viewing products in real space.
A showroom without connection to the catalog is a demo, not a product. Content loads dynamically:
- Product metadata (name, description, price, variants) — from REST API.
- 3D models — from Addressables CDN by product_id.
- Availability and price — real-time from the catalog.
When the collection changes, no app re-release is needed: Addressables groups update via Content Delivery.
Why gaze navigation is the best choice for mobile VR?
In mobile VR, there are no controllers, so interaction relies on gaze. Gaze navigation is simple and intuitive: the user looks at a destination, holds gaze for 1–2 seconds, and teleports. This eliminates motion sickness and requires no training. Alternatives like joystick or on-screen buttons are distracting and less ergonomic for 3DoF. Gaze navigation is the best choice for mobile VR due to its naturalness and 3x reduction in motion sickness.
For dwell activation, we use a timer of 1.2–1.8 seconds with visual indication. When using a spherical collider for the teleport zone, it's important to set the correct angle: 15° from the gaze direction. This prevents accidental triggers.
How to ensure stable 60 FPS on mobile VR devices?
Target devices: iPhone 12 and Android with Snapdragon 865. Main profiling tools: Unity Profiler, Xcode GPU Frame Capture, Android GPU Inspector. Typical optimizations:
- GPU Instancing for repeated elements (e.g., chairs in a hall).
- Occlusion Culling — objects behind walls are not rendered.
- LOD with three levels: low poly >20 meters, medium >10 meters, high up to 5 meters.
- Reduce shadow quality to 512×512 or disable for distant objects.
As a result we achieve stable 60 FPS even in zones with 50+ models. If performance drops to 30 FPS on older devices, we automatically reduce texture quality to 1K and disable real-time shadows.
Work process and timelines
- Catalog audit: number of SKUs, 3D model formats, content update requirements.
- Space design: zoning, navigation, inspection points.
- 3D model and texture optimization pipeline.
- Development: scenes, lighting, product interaction, Cardboard VR mode.
- Integration with catalog and cart.
- Performance optimization, testing on target devices.
What's included in the work
- Documentation: user flow, technical specifications, content update guide.
- Access: source repository, Addressables CDN keys, Developer accounts (App Store / Google Play).
- Training: video recording of catalog update, testing, and deployment processes.
- Support: one-month warranty, SLA 8/5 for critical bugs.
Timeline estimates
Showroom with one zone and 10–20 products: 3–5 weeks. Multi-zone platform with dynamic catalog and cart: 2–4 months. Cost is calculated individually based on content volume and integration complexity.
Our team has 5+ years of mobile VR development experience and has completed 20+ projects across various industries. Get a consultation on your project or order a virtual showroom development — we'll help you choose the best solution. Contact us to discuss your project.