Zero Latency (company)

The founders' idea to develop a free-roam virtual reality experience first emerged in 2012 following the success of Oculus Rift's kickstarter campaign,[5] and was initially tested as a single-player game called Inversion VR, in early 2013.[6][7] 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.[8][9] Following this, Zero Latency VR secured almost $30,000 from a crowdfunding campaign,[10] as well as a $60,000 grant from Film Victoria.[11] The company subsequently received $1 million in funding from Carthona Capital, a venture capital firm.[12][13][14] 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.[15] In August 2015, Zero Latency VR opened a VR entertainment venue in North Melbourne, Australia.[16][17] This was touted as the first such virtual reality facility to be publicly available.[18]

Free-roam virtual reality allows users to move freely in an open space and not be constrained by cables and other immobile equipment.[19] 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.[19] 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.[5]

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.[9] It took several years to develop the software and hardware allowing players' physical movements to be instantly replicated by their in-game avatars.[20][21] Proximity sensors are used to warn players of hazards and prevent players from leaving the physical play area.[18]

As of January 2022, Zero Latency VR has 55 venues in 26 countries.[22]

The company also sells its systems to businesses requiring free-roam virtual reality applications.[11] Due to their cost and complexity, Zero Latency VR's systems are not ideal for private use.[23][24] Instead, they are intended to be used as public virtual gaming spaces or theme park attractions.[12][23][25] Zero Latency VR has also partnered with a real estate group to offer virtual house inspections.[26]

As of January 2022, Zero Latency VR has 55 venues in 26 countries.[27]

Zero Latency VR is open in the following locations:

• www.zerolatencyvr.com