View source for Jeri Ellsworth

{{Short description|American entrepreneur and computer chip designer}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Infobox person/Wikidata|dateformat=mdy
| name               = Jeri Ellsworth
| image              = Jeri Ellsworth CAX 2009.jpg
| alt                = Jeri Ellsworth, 2009
| caption            = Ellsworth at California Extreme (Classic Arcade Games Show), 2009<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.caextreme.org/ |title=Home |website=caextreme.org}}</ref> 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date and age|1974|08|14}}
| birth_place        = [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], United States<ref name="engadget.com">{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/17/castar-augmented-reality/|title=castAR bets big on its augmented reality hardware with move to Silicon Valley|work=Engadget|first=Nicole|last=Lee|date=October 17, 2014|access-date=February 7, 2015}}</ref>
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| known_for          = 
| employer           = Tilt Five
| occupation         = [[Entrepreneur]]<br />[[Integrated circuit design]]er
| fetchwikidata=ALL
}}

'''Jeri Janet Ellsworth''' (born August 14, 1974) is an American [[entrepreneur]], [[computer chip]] designer and inventor. She gained fame in 2004 for creating a complete [[Commodore 64]] imitating [[system on a chip]] housed within a [[joystick]], called [[C64 Direct-to-TV|Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://esc-sv09.techinsightsevents.com/keynotes/|title = Keynote Addresses &#124; ESC Silicon Valley}}</ref><ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/> It runs 30 video games from the 1980s, and at peak, sold over 70,000 units in a single day via the [[QVC]] [[shopping channel]].<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/>

Ellsworth was hired by [[Valve Corporation]] to develop augmented reality hardware, but was terminated in 2013. She co-founded [[castAR]] to continue the work—with permission—but the company shut down on June 26, 2017 without completing development.<ref name="benchoff">{{cite web|last1=Benchoff|first1=Brian|title=CastAR Shuts Doors|url=https://hackaday.com/2017/06/27/castar-shuts-doors/|website=Hackaday|date=June 27, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://theamphour.com/394-jeri-ellsworth-and-the-demise-of-castar/|title=#394 – Jeri Ellsworth and the demise of CastAR|date=2018-05-29|website=The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast|language=en-US|access-date=2018-12-27}}</ref> She started another company, Tilt Five, to create AR hardware based on the same principles.

Ellsworth has publicly talked about various homebrew projects, such as how to manufacture semiconductor chips at home.<ref>{{Cite podcast|date=2018-04-30|title=#390 – An Interview with Sam Zeloof|url=https://theamphour.com/390-an-interview-with-sam-zeloof/|access-date=2021-02-17|website=The Amp Hour Electronics Podcast|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Ellsworth was born in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]<ref name="engadget.com"/> and grew up in the towns of [[Dallas, Oregon]] and [[Yamhill, Oregon]].  Her mother died when she was one.<ref name="Ellsworth-talks">{{Citation  |last1=Fuller |first1=Brian |date=May 6, 2011 |quote=Jeri Ellsworth, who keynoted at ESC Silicon Valley 2011, talks about her remarkable life and career and innovations with EE Times |title=Jeri Ellsworth, self-taught engineer, talks about her career|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLy0mVkoLio |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/cLy0mVkoLio| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|language=en |via=youtube |access-date=2019-10-23}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ellsworth was raised by her father, Jim, a car mechanic and [[Mobil]] [[filling station|service station]] owner.<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/>

When she was eight years old, she disassembled her toys to learn how they worked. In response her father stopped buying toys, put an empty box at his work saying "bring your broken electronic gizmos", and every few weeks, gave them to her. She started making simple modifications to them.<ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/> She persuaded her father to let her use a [[Commodore 64]] computer which had been purchased for her brother.<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/> She taught herself to program by reading the  manual. She earned spending money working for her father, pumping gas, cleaning wrenches, replacing oil filters, and other "mechanical things".<ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/>

In high school, she drove [[dirt track racing]] cars with her father and began designing new models in his workshop, eventually selling custom race cars. She [[Dropping out|dropped out]] of high school to continue the business.<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/>

== Computer stores ==
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|Description = Ellsworth, in front of one of her stores, ''Computers Made Easy'' in 2000<ref>{{cite web |title=COMPUTERS MADE EASY I INC |url=https://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=67389&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE |website=Business Registry |publisher=[[Oregon Secretary of State]] |access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref>
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In 1995, at the age of 21, Ellsworth tired of race track social atmosphere,<ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/> so she and a friend started a business assembling and selling computers based around the [[i486|Intel 486]] [[microprocessor]]. When she and her partner had a disagreement,<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/> Ellsworth opened a separate business in competition. This became a chain of four stores, "Computers Made Easy", selling consumer electronics services and equipment in the [[Willamette Valley]] towns of [[Canby, Oregon|Canby]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://egov.sos.state.or.us/br/pkg_web_name_srch_inq.show_detl?p_be_rsn=849726&p_srce=BR_INQ&p_print=FALSE | title=Oregon Secretary of State }}</ref> [[Monmouth, Oregon|Monmouth]], and [[Albany, Oregon]].<ref name="Expo Jeri Ellsworth 1st"/><ref name="Statesman Journal 2006">
{{cite news|last=Monahan |first=Matt |date=January 25, 2005 |url=http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050125/BUSINESS/501250320 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060221204134/http://159.54.226.83/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20050125%2FBUSINESS%2F501250320 |archive-date=February 21, 2006 |title=Joy of electronics sticks with woman, sparking invention |newspaper=[[Statesman Journal]] |access-date=2011-03-22 |url-status=dead }}
</ref>

When profit margins shrank,<ref name="entrepreneur-2017-Gaudiosi">
{{cite web |last1=Gaudiosi |first1=John |title=How This Female Inventor Succeeded in Male-Dominated Industries |url=https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/292500 |website=Entrepreneur |access-date=29 September 2021 |date=April 10, 2017 |quote=Jeri Ellsworth is launching a consumer-friendly augmented reality platform, castAR, this fall.}}
</ref> she sold the chain in 2000 and moved to [[Walla Walla, Washington]] to attend [[Walla Walla University|Walla Walla College]], studying circuit design. She left after a year because of a "cultural mismatch". Ellsworth said that questioning professors' answers was frowned upon.<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff"/>

== Hardware design ==
[[Image:2009 Bay Area Maker Faire - Jeri.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Ellsworth at Bay Area Maker Faire 2009]]

In 2000, Ellsworth unveiled a prototype video expansion for the [[Commodore 64]] at a Commodore Exposition.<ref name="Expo Jeri Ellsworth 1st">{{cite web |author1=Raymond Day |title=Expo Jeri Ellsworth 1st |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB3j911ldY0  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/nB3j911ldY0| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|website=[[YouTube]] |language=en |date=April 10, 2014 |quote=This is old video when I was at a commodore Expo and first seen Jeri Ellsworth. This is where she burnt out an Altair and had an order come right to this place before the Expo started. She was 25 years old in this video, so in 1999.}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Ellsworth then began designing digital circuits that mimicked the behavior of the C64.  In 2002, she designed the chip used in the [[C-One]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.c64upgra.de |title=C-One website |publisher=C64upgra.de |access-date=2011-03-23}}</ref> as an enhanced C64 which could also imitate other home computers of the early 1980s, including the [[VIC-20]] and [[ZX81]]. She and a fellow developer displayed the C-One at a technology conference, which led to Mammoth Toys, a Division of NSI International, NSI Products (HK) Limited<ref>
*{{cite web|url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCOURTS-ilnd-1_15-cv-06997|title=15-6997 - Mustafa v. NSI International, Inc. et al|website=govinfo.go}}
*{{cite web |last1=Spangenthal-Lee |first1=Jonah |title=In Other Neighborhoods. . . |url=https://www.thestranger.com/seattle/in-other-neighborhoods-/Content?oid=532250 |website=[[The Stranger (newspaper)|The Stranger]] |access-date=25 September 2021 |language=en |date=March 13, 2008 |quote=... a New York company called Mammoth Toys. Company president Frank Landi says Mammoth...}}
*{{cite web |title=MAMMOTH TOYS AND GAMES LLC :: New York (US) |url=https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ny/5850181 |website=OpenCorporates |access-date=25 September 2021}}
*{{cite web |title=Mammoth Toys Div Of Nsi Products |url=https://www.importgenius.com/suppliers/mammoth-toys-div-of-nsi-products-h |website=ImportGenius |access-date=25 September 2021}}</ref> hiring her to design the "computer in a chip" for the [[C64 Direct-to-TV]] C64-imitating joystick. She began the project in June 2004 and had the project ready to ship by that Christmas. It sold over a half-million units, in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. She did not receive payment, nor the commission she was owed,<ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/> but a story in the ''[[New York Times]]'' brought her to the public eye.<ref name="nytimes-2004-12-20-Markoff">{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/20/technology/a-toy-with-a-story.html|title=A Toy With a Story|last=Markoff|first=John|date=2004-12-20|work=The New York Times|access-date=2019-10-23|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/>

On December 3, 2010 Ellsworth released information on how to build a TSA "naked" scanner using repurposed satellite antenna parts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hackaday.com/2010/12/03/make-your-own-tsa-naked-scanner/ |title=Make Your Own TSA "Naked" Scanner |publisher=Hackaday |date=December 3, 2010 |access-date=2011-03-23}}</ref> Ellsworth has worked on numerous subjects as diverse as homemade semiconductors (2009),<ref name="Maker Faire Bay Area 2009"/> homemade electroluminescent (EL) displays (2010),<ref name="lcd-into-el"/> EL phosphor manufacture from common ingredients and ways to make transparent EL backplanes and phosphor without using expensive indium-tin-oxide coated glass and hard-to-obtain chemicals.<ref name="lcd-into-el">{{cite web |url=http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/06/jeri-ellsworth-turns-an-lcd-into-el.html |title=Jeri Ellsworth turns an LCD into an EL display |publisher=blog.makezine.com |date=June 11, 2010 |access-date=2011-03-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426032250/http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2010/06/jeri-ellsworth-turns-an-lcd-into-el.html |archive-date=April 26, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Ellsworth was named "MacGyver of the Day" on February 25, 2010 by ''[[Lifehacker]]''.<ref name="Lifehacker-MacGyver-Torrone">{{cite web | last = Torrone | first = Phil | date = February 25, 2010 | url = http://lifehacker.com/5480199/macgyver-of-the-day-electronics-hacker-jeri-ellsworth | title = MacGyver of the Day: Electronics Hacker Jeri Ellsworth | publisher = Lifehacker.com}}</ref>

Ellsworth is a freelance [[Application-specific integrated circuit|ASIC]] and [[field-programmable gate array|FPGA]] designer.<ref name="Lifehacker-MacGyver-Torrone"/><ref name="Embedded-2011-Ganssle">{{cite web |last1=Ganssle |first1=Jack |title=Fun at the ESC |url=https://www.embedded.com/fun-at-the-esc/ |website=Embedded.com |date=9 May 2011 |quote=Jeri Ellsworth gave Thursday’s keynote. A high school dropout, she’s now a freelance ASIC designer. Jeri has some quite innovative YouTube videos, and her life story is truly that of the up-from-nothing American entrepreneur.}}</ref>

==Augmented reality==
In early 2012, Ellsworth and other hardware hackers were hired by [[Valve Corporation|Valve]] to work on gaming hardware.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.valvetime.net/threads/im-working-at-valve-on-nextgen-gaming-hardware-jeri-ellsworth.187331/ | title = "I'm working at Valve on nextgen gaming hardware" – Jeri Ellsworth | date = March 10, 2020 | publisher = valvetime.net }}</ref> Along with several other Valve employees, Ellsworth was terminated the following year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/jeriellsworth/status/301521067816669184|title=Jeri Ellsworth on Twitter: "Yup. Got fired today. Time for new exciting projects."|publisher=Twitter.com|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/several-out-of-work-as-valve-makes-large-decisions-about-its-future|title=Gamasutra: Several out of work as Valve makes 'large decisions' about its future|date=February 13, 2013|publisher=Gamasutra.com|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.engadget.com/2013/02/13/valve-gabe-newell-layoffs-statement/|title=Engadget: Valve's Gabe Newell on reported layoffs|author=Ben Gilbert|work=Engadget|date=February 14, 2013 |access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

On May 18, 2013, Ellsworth announced that she had developed an [[augmented reality]] development system named [[castAR]] with fellow ex-Valve engineer Rick Johnson,<ref>{{citation | url = https://www.theverge.com/2013/5/18/4343382/technical-illusions-valve-augmented-reality-glasses-jeri-ellsworth-rick-johnson | title = How two Valve engineers walked away with the company's augmented reality glasses | date = May 18, 2013 }}</ref> with the blessing of [[Valve Corporation|Valve]]'s [[Gabe Newell]],<ref>{{citation | url = https://www.engadget.com/2013/05/18/cast-ar-hands-on-with-jeri-ellsworth-at-maker-faire-2013 | title = cast AR hands-on with Jeri Ellsworth at Maker Faire 2013| date = May 18, 2013|publisher=Engadget.com|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> and would be funding it via [[Kickstarter]] later in the year. Her start-up company, [[Technical Illusions]], started developing castAR.<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.technicalillusions.com |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20130303033112/http://technicalillusions.com/ |url-status =usurped |archive-date =March 3, 2013 | title = Technical Illusions|publisher=Technicalillusions.com|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref>

Ellsworth later revealed she had been secretly working to make [[castAR]] have "true VR and true AR" in addition to the previously announced projected AR capabilities.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2NQVQK69A| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014163717/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2NQVQK69A| archive-date=2013-10-14 | url-status=dead|title=CastAR VR / AR System – The 18 Month Story|work=YouTube|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> The castAR Kickstarter,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/technicalillusions/castar-the-most-versatile-ar-and-vr-system|title=castAR: the most versatile AR & VR system|work=Kickstarter|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> launched on October 14, 2013, reached its goal of $400,000 in 56 hours and finished with $1.05&nbsp;million, 263% of the original goal.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kicktraq.com/projects/technicalillusions/castar-the-most-versatile-ar-and-vr-system|title=castAR: the most versatile AR & VR system|publisher=Kicktraq.com|access-date=6 October 2014}}</ref> The project didn't deliver the devices and paid back the funds to backers before shutting down the company in 2017.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2017/6/27/15879700/castar-augmented-reality-glasses-shutdown-layoffs-report|title=Ambitious augmented reality startup CastAR reportedly shuts down|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2017-06-27|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2019-09-25}}</ref>

In September 2019, Ellsworth initiated a Kickstarter for a new device based on the same principles of the castAR, called Tilt Five.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/24/20881355/tilt-five-castar-augmented-reality-glasses-jeri-ellsworth-kickstarter|title=Jeri Ellsworth's unique AR glasses are back from the dead|last=Hollister|first=Sean|date=2019-09-24|website=The Verge|language=en|access-date=2019-09-25}}</ref> This Kickstarter exceeded the previous one, hitting its initial target of $450,000 in 17 hours, and eventually gaining $1,767,301. Initially scheduled to deliver Kickstarter product by June 2020, the manufacturing was delayed by the Covid pandemic, but has continued to sign gaming contracts.<ref>Liam Dawe. Gaming on Linux. June 24, 2021. https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2021/06/tilt-five-an-upcoming-tabletop-holographic-gaming-system-developed-with-linux</ref>

==Public speaking and webcasts==
Ellsworth was a keynote speaker at the Embedded Systems Conference on May 5, 2011.<ref name="Ellsworth-talks"/>

From December 2008 until March 2009, Ellsworth hosted a weekly [[webcast]], ''Fatman and Circuit Girl'', together with musician [[George Sanger (musician)|George Sanger]].<ref name="Webcast1">{{cite web|url=http://makezine.com/2009/04/28/latest-fatman-and-circuit-girl-vids/|title=Latest Fatman and Circuit Girl vids|last1=Branwyn|first1=Gareth|author-link1=Gareth Branwyn|date=28 April 2009|publisher=[[Make (magazine)|Make]]|access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref><ref name="Webcast2">{{cite web|url=http://www.nycresistor.com/2009/06/25/fatman-and-circuit-girl-jeri-ellesworth-rollerderby-superstar-cover-noahs-ar-rig-at-notacon/|title=Fatman and Circuit Girl (Jeri Ellsworth – Rollerderby Superstar) Cover Noah's AR Rig at Notacon|last1=Joyce|first1=Matt|date=25 June 2009|publisher=[[NYC Resistor]]|access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref> On May 30, 2009, Ellsworth demonstrated her Home Chip Lab at [[Maker Faire]] Bay Area 2009.<ref name="Maker Faire Bay Area 2009">{{cite web|url=http://makerfaire.com/pub/e/2545 |title=Events filled with DIY projects, science, demos, recycling, entertainment, and fun |publisher=Maker Faire |access-date=2011-03-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101218162012/http://makerfaire.com/pub/e/2545 |archive-date=2010-12-18 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Ellsworth is a [[pinball]] [[aficionado]] and owns over 80 pinball machines.<ref name="engadget.com"/> In 2016, she became a licensed [[amateur radio]] operator, holding an Extra Class license<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wireless2.fcc.gov/UlsApp/UlsSearch/license.jsp?licKey=3859543|title=FCC ULS Search|access-date=19 November 2016}}</ref> with callsign AI6TK.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.qrz.com/db/AI6TK |title=QRZ.com|access-date=17 October 2022}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last1=Osborn |first1=Steven |title=Makers at Work: Folks Reinventing the World, One Object Or Idea at a Time |date=2013 |location=Berkeley, CA |isbn=978-1-4302-5993-0 |chapter=Jeri Ellsworth, Founder, Technical Illusions |oclc=854612458}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Jeri Ellsworth}}

*{{official website}}
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJVnAdMePuQ ''The Life Story of Jeri Ellsworth, American Entrepreneur & Inventor'']

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellsworth, Jeri}}
[[Category:1974 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:21st-century American women engineers]]
[[Category:21st-century American engineers]]
[[Category:American women company founders]]
[[Category:American company founders]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Oregon]]
[[Category:Commodore people]]
[[Category:Walla Walla University alumni]]
[[Category:American business executives]]
[[Category:American technology company founders]]
[[Category:People from Dallas, Oregon]]
[[Category:YouTubers from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:People from Mountain View, California]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Seattle]]
[[Category:Amateur radio women]]
[[Category:Amateur radio people]]
[[Category:21st-century American women inventors]]
[[Category:Engineers from California]]
[[Category:21st-century American inventors]]
[[Category:People from Yamhill, Oregon]]
[[Category:YouTubers from Oregon]]
[[Category:YouTubers from California]]