Jeri Ellsworth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jeri Ellsworth
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Ellsworth at California Extreme (Classic Arcade Games Show), 2009
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| Born | August 14, 1974 Georgia, United States |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur Integrated circuit designer |
| Employer | Tilt Five |
| Website | https://www.jeriellsworth.com/  |
Jeri Janet Ellsworth (born August 14, 1974) is an American inventor and designer of computer chips. She is also an entrepreneur, which means she starts and runs her own businesses.
Jeri became famous in 2004 for creating a special computer chip. This chip was a complete Commodore 64 emulator. It was put inside a joystick and called the Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV. This cool device could play 30 classic video games from the 1980s. At its most popular, it sold over 70,000 units in just one day!
Later, Jeri was hired by Valve Corporation to work on augmented reality (AR) technology. AR adds digital information to the real world, like seeing virtual objects in your room. She left Valve in 2013. After that, she started her own companies, castAR and Tilt Five. Both companies focused on creating new AR hardware. Jeri also shares her own "homebrew" projects, like how to make computer chips at home.
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Jeri's Early Life
Jeri Ellsworth was born in Georgia, USA. She grew up in Oregon, in towns like Dallas, Oregon and Yamhill, Oregon. Her mother passed away when Jeri was only one year old. Her father, Jim, raised her. He was a car mechanic and owned a gas station.
When Jeri was eight, she loved taking apart her toys. She wanted to learn how they worked inside. Her father noticed this and stopped buying her new toys. Instead, he put a box at his garage asking customers to bring their broken electronics. Every few weeks, he would give these broken items to Jeri. She started fixing them and even made simple changes to them.
Jeri convinced her father to let her use a Commodore 64 computer. This computer was originally bought for her brother. She taught herself how to program it by reading the instruction manual. She also earned money by helping her father. She would pump gas, clean tools, change oil filters, and do other mechanical tasks.
In high school, Jeri and her father raced dirt-track race cars. She started designing new car models in his workshop. Soon, she was selling her own custom-made race cars. She decided to leave high school to focus on her growing business.
Starting Computer Stores
In 1995, when Jeri was 21, she decided to try something new. She and a friend started a business. They built and sold computers that used the Intel 486 microprocessor. Later, Jeri and her partner had a disagreement. So, Jeri opened her own separate computer business.
Her new business grew into a chain of four stores called "Computers Made Easy." These stores sold electronics and offered repair services. They were located in Oregon towns like Canby, Monmouth, and Albany, Oregon.
After a while, it became harder to make a good profit from the stores. In 2000, Jeri sold her chain of stores. She then moved to Walla Walla, Washington. She enrolled at Walla Walla College to study how to design electronic circuits. However, she left after one year. She felt that asking questions to professors was not encouraged, which didn't fit her learning style.
Designing Computer Hardware
In 2000, Jeri showed off a new invention at a Commodore Exposition. It was a prototype that could add video features to the Commodore 64. After this, Jeri began designing digital circuits. These circuits were made to act just like the parts of a C64 computer.
In 2002, she designed the main chip for a computer called the C-One. This C-One was an improved C64. It could also pretend to be (emulate) other old home computers from the early 1980s. These included the VIC-20 and ZX81. Jeri and another developer showed the C-One at a technology conference.
This led to a company hiring her to design the "computer in a chip" for the C64 Direct-to-TV joystick. She started this project in June 2004. By Christmas of that year, the project was ready to be shipped. It sold over half a million units in the US, Europe, and other places. Jeri did not receive the payment or commission she was promised. However, a story about her in the New York Times newspaper made her well-known to the public.
Jeri Ellsworth is a freelance designer. She creates special computer chips called ASICs and FPGAs.
Homebrew Projects
On December 3, 2010, Jeri shared information on how to build a special scanner. This scanner was similar to those used in airports. She showed how to make it using parts from old satellite antennas.
Jeri has also worked on many other interesting projects at home. In 2009, she explored how to make semiconductor chips at home. In 2010, she worked on making homemade electroluminescent (EL) displays. These displays glow when electricity passes through them. She also found ways to make EL phosphor from common ingredients. She even figured out how to make clear EL backplanes without using expensive materials.
Because of her clever inventions and ability to build things, Jeri Ellsworth was called the "MacGyver of the Day" by Lifehacker on February 25, 2010.
Augmented Reality Innovations
In early 2012, Jeri Ellsworth and other hardware experts were hired by Valve. They worked on new gaming hardware. However, Jeri and several other Valve employees were let go the next year.
On May 18, 2013, Jeri announced a new project. She had developed an augmented reality system called castAR. She worked on this with Rick Johnson, another engineer who used to work at Valve. They had permission from Valve's boss, Gabe Newell, to continue this work. They planned to get funding for castAR through Kickstarter.
Jeri later shared that she had been secretly working on castAR. She wanted it to have "true VR" (virtual reality) and "true AR" features. Virtual reality completely immerses you in a digital world. The castAR Kickstarter project started on October 14, 2013. It quickly reached its goal of $400,000 in just 56 hours. The project ended up raising $1.05 million, which was 263% more than the original goal! However, the company closed down in 2017 without delivering the devices. They paid back the money to the people who supported the project.
In September 2019, Jeri started another Kickstarter project. This new device was called Tilt Five. It was based on the same ideas as castAR. This Kickstarter was even more successful than the last one. It reached its goal of $450,000 in only 17 hours. In the end, it raised over $1.7 million. The original plan was to deliver the products by June 2020. But manufacturing was delayed because of the Covid pandemic. Despite the delays, Tilt Five has continued to sign contracts with gaming companies.
Public Speaking and Webcasts
Jeri Ellsworth was a main speaker at the Embedded Systems Conference on May 5, 2011.
From December 2008 to March 2009, Jeri hosted a weekly online show. It was called Fatman and Circuit Girl. She hosted it with musician George Sanger. On May 30, 2009, Jeri showed off her Home Chip Lab at the Maker Faire Bay Area.
Personal Life and Hobbies
Jeri Ellsworth loves pinball machines. She owns more than 80 of them! In 2016, she became a licensed amateur radio operator. This means she can use a special radio to talk to people around the world. Her call sign is AI6TK.
See also
In Spanish: Jeri Ellsworth para niños
