| Zero Latency VR | |
| Industry: | Free Roam Virtual Reality |
| Founded: | 2013 |
| Hq Location: | Melbourne, Australia |
| Num Employees: | +100 |
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]
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 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]
, Zero Latency VR has 97 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]