CoWafer - Multiplayer AR Wafer Evaluation
Immersive Technologies
Semester programme:Immersive Experiences
Research group:Interaction Design
Project group members:Heitor Elias Prudente
Quinn Luthers
Timoffy Andreiev
Jayden Hato
Project description
ASML's XRV Team has been developing a VR application that allows semiconductor engineers to visualize wafer data in three dimensions. The application exists and runs, but has never been used by a real engineer outside the development team, and has no multiplayer functionality.
Our design challenge was to transform this single-user tool into a meaningful collaborative experience: how might we enable multiple engineers to review and discuss wafer data together in real time in VR, so that collaborative analysis becomes faster, clearer, and less dependent on indirect communication tools such as screenshots and PowerPoint.
Context
ASML is one of the world's leading semiconductor companies, producing the photolithography machines used to manufacture microchips. Within ASML, the XRV Team has been developing a VR application that allows engineers to visualize wafer data spatially in three dimensions, replacing flat numerical plots in Excel with an interactive 3D environment running on Meta Quest 3.The domain sits at the intersection of industrial engineering, data visualization, and immersive technology. The users are semiconductor engineers who analyze complex wafer data as part of their daily workflow, working in collaborative environments where decisions are made collectively but the current tool supports only single-user interaction.
Results
The project produced two primary outcomes.
The first is a working multiplayer foundation for the existing ASML VR application. The group selected and began integrating Meta Building Blocks as the multiplayer framework, based on a direct recommendation from Wayan Traversat, the XR Architect and project stakeholder. This decision was confirmed during Meeting 4 and represents the architectural foundation for all subsequent multiplayer development.
The second is a functional laser pointer feature built from scratch and running on the Meta Quest 3. The feature was developed individually using the Meta XR SDK, resolving a silent API failure during implementation. It addresses the most critical interaction gap identified during the ASML site visit: without a shared pointer, two engineers in the same VR session have no common reference point on the wafer, making meaningful collaboration impossible even if multiplayer connectivity is established.
Both outcomes are currently at TRL 4, demonstrated in a laboratory environment on actual target hardware. The on-site validation session at ASML, where multiplayer will be tested across two headsets with Wayan present, remains the next critical milestone and will advance both outcomes toward TRL 5 if the test confirms the design direction.
About the project group
Our group consists of four students from the Minor Immersive Experiences at Fontys University of Applied Sciences: Heitor (Brazil), Timoffy (Ukraine), Quinn and Jayden (Netherlands). We worked in two-week sprints with bi-weekly client meetings, dividing responsibilities based on individual strengths while maintaining shared ownership of all deliverables. The project ran for approximately 10 weeks alongside individual coursework.