Zero Latency (company)

Zero Latency VR

Industry	Free Roam Virtual Reality
Founded	2013
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia
Number of employees	+100
Website	zerolatencyvr.com

Zero Latency VR is a technology company that develops free-roam virtual reality systems.^[1] It was founded by Tim Ruse, Scott Vandonkelaar, Kyel Smith, who are currently directors of the company, with Dean Dorrell as the chairman.^[2]

History

The founders' idea to develop a free-roam virtual reality experience first emerged in 2012 following the success of Oculus Rift's kickstarter campaign,^[3] and was initially tested as a single-player game called Inversion VR, in early 2013.^[4][5] A prototype of Zero Latency VR's multiplayer free-roam virtual reality system was first demonstrated to the public at Pausefest, a digital innovation conference, in early 2014.^[6][7] Following this, Zero Latency VR secured almost $30,000 from a crowdfunding campaign,^[8] as well as a $60,000 grant from Film Victoria.^[9] The company subsequently received $1 million in funding from Carthona Capital, a venture capital firm.^[10][11][12] In February 2015, Zero Latency VR partnered with Dell's gaming division, Alienware, to provide high-performance computer hardware for use in Zero Latency VR's operations.^[13] In August 2015, Zero Latency VR opened a VR entertainment venue in North Melbourne, Australia.^[14][15] This was touted as the first such virtual reality facility to be publicly available.^[16]

Free-roam

Free-roam virtual reality allows users to move freely in an open space and not be constrained by cables and other immobile equipment.^[17] Perceptual tricks such as "Change Blindness Redirection" are used in free-roam virtual reality to create the illusion of a virtual environment larger than what is physically available.^[17] Zero Latency VR employs these perceptual tricks at its 400m² venue in North Melbourne to allow players to travel between 700m and 1 km during a standard game session.^[3]

Motion capture technology is used to track the physical location of players, which allows the in-game virtual location of players' avatars to be generated accurately.^[7] It took several years to develop the software and hardware allowing players' physical movements to be instantly replicated by their in-game avatars.^[18][19] Proximity sensors are used to warn players of hazards and prevent players from leaving the physical play area.^[16]

Products

As of December 2024^[update], Zero Latency VR has 103 venues in 26 countries.^[20]

The company also sells its systems to businesses requiring free-roam virtual reality applications.^[9] Due to their cost and complexity, Zero Latency VR's systems are not ideal for private use.^[21][22] Instead, they are intended to be used as public virtual gaming spaces or theme park attractions.^[10][21][23] Zero Latency VR has also partnered with a real estate group to offer virtual house inspections.^[24]

References

1. UTC, Ariel BogleAustralia2015-11-04 06:00:44 (4 November 2015). "Fightings zombies with Zero Latency VR is virtual reality gaming at its best". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
2. Simpson, Campbell (4 August 2015). "This Is Zero Latency VR, The Future Of Immersive Gaming". www.gizmodo.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
3. "Good Game Stories - Zero Latency VR". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
4. Hopewell, Luke (22 May 2014). "Meet Zero Latency VR: The Future Of Immersive Gaming, Built In Australia". www.gizmodo.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
5. Lang, Ben (24 September 2013). "Inversion Project: 'Pop-up' VR Environment, Zombie Game Demo Video". Road to VR. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
6. McCarthy, Tyler (2014-07-02). "Fighting Zombies Just Got Intense With This Virtual Reality System". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
7. "Holodeck-style virtual reality gets a step closer with the Inversion VR system". TechSpot. 5 February 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
8. "Zero Latency VR - Inversion VR by Zero Latency VR". Pozible. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
9. "Zero Latency: The VR revolution begins in Melbourne, Australia". CNET. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
10. "Zero Latency VR". Fast Company. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
11. "Zero Latency VR: The VR revolution begins in Melbourne, Australia". CNET. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
12. "Zombie virtual reality Melbourne: Zero Latency VR's city warehouse brings the undead 'to life'".
13. au, Dell. "Press Releases". Dell. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
14. "Kill Zombies at Melbourne's Virtual Reality Game Centre | The Creators Project". The Creators Project. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
15. "Australia just opened the first ever virtual reality entertainment facility". Business Insider. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
16. "Virtual reality offers tantalising taste of brave new world". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 August 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
17. "Forget the joysticks — let's push the boundaries of virtual reality". news.usc.edu. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
18. UTC, Ariel BogleAustralia2015-11-04 06:00:44 (4 November 2015). "Fightings zombies with Zero Latency VR is virtual reality gaming at its best". Mashable. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
19. "Immersive Virtual Reality gaming center opens in Australia". Engadget. 16 August 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
20. UTC. "Zero Latency Locations". Zero Latency. Retrieved 2024-12-16.
21. "this. | Virtual reality: games". this. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
22. "World's first VR entertainment facility opens in Australia". Digital Trends. 14 August 2015. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
23. "Zero Latency is igniting conversations about the future of VR technology in Australia - Startup Daily". Startup Daily. Retrieved 2016-02-21.
24. "Zero Latency VR uses Oculus Rift to kill zombies and help REA Group sell properties".

External links

• www.zerolatencyvr.com