Jeri Ellsworth

Jeri Ellsworth
Born	(1974-08-14) August 14, 1974 Georgia, United States
Occupation(s)	Inventor, entrepreneur, computer chip designer
Known for	Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV, castAR, Tilt Five

Jeri Janet Ellsworth (born August 14, 1974) is an American inventor, entrepreneur, and specialist in computer chip design. She first gained widespread attention in 2004 by creating a complete Commodore 64 emulation system on a single chip integrated into a joystick, known as the Commodore 30-in-1 Direct to TV. This device featured 30 iconic video games from the 1980s and achieved sales exceeding 70,000 units in one day through the QVC shopping network.

Ellsworth was recruited by Valve Corporation to work on augmented reality hardware but was dismissed in 2013. With Valve’s consent, she co-founded castAR to further develop AR technology; however, the company ceased operations on June 26, 2017 before completing its projects. Subsequently, she established Tilt Five, which is dedicated to AR hardware based on similar concepts.

She has openly shared knowledge about DIY electronics projects, including the production of semiconductor chips at home.

Early life

Ellsworth was born in Georgia and raised in Dallas and Yamhill, Oregon. After losing her mother at age one, she was brought up by her father Jim, who was a car mechanic and owned a Mobil gas station.

Starting at eight years old, she took apart toys to explore their inner workings. Her father encouraged this inquisitiveness by gathering broken electronic devices for her to experiment with. She taught herself programming using a Commodore 64 originally bought for her brother. Additionally, she earned income by performing mechanical work at her father’s service station.

During high school, Ellsworth participated in dirt track car racing alongside her father and designed new race car models in his workshop. She eventually sold custom-built race cars and left high school early to concentrate on this business venture.

Computer stores

At 21 years old in 1995, Ellsworth exited the racing industry and co-established a company assembling and retailing computers built around the Intel 486 microprocessor. After parting ways with her business partner due to disagreements, she founded a competing enterprise that expanded into four "Computers Made Easy" retail outlets offering consumer electronics and services throughout Willamette Valley communities including Canby, Monmouth, and Albany in Oregon.

Confronted with declining profit margins, she sold the store chain in 2000 and relocated to Walla Walla, Washington to pursue circuit design studies at Walla Walla College. However, she left after one year due to cultural incompatibilities.

Hardware design

In 2000, Ellsworth showcased a prototype video expansion cartridge for the Commodore 64 at a Commodore Exposition event. She then engineered digital circuits that replicated the C64’s functions. By 2002, she had created the chip for the C-One—a sophisticated C64 variant capable of emulating early 1980s home computers such as the VIC-20 and ZX81. This achievement led Mammoth Toys, part of NSI International, to hire her to develop the "computer-in-a-chip" technology for the C64 Direct-to-TV joystick. Beginning work in June 2004, she completed the project by Christmas that year; it went on to sell over half a million units across North America and Europe. Despite its commercial success, Ellsworth did not receive promised payments or royalties. A subsequent New York Times feature brought broader public recognition to her contributions.

On December 3, 2010, she revealed instructions for constructing a TSA "naked" scanner using modified satellite antenna components. Her expertise covers homemade semiconductor fabrication (2009), electroluminescent (EL) display technologies (2010), and novel techniques for producing EL phosphors and transparent backplanes without relying on expensive materials.

In February 2010, Lifehacker honored her as "MacGyver of the Day." She continues her career as an independent designer specializing in application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) and field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

Augmented reality

In early 2012, Ellsworth, along with other hardware enthusiasts, was recruited by Valve to contribute to the creation of gaming hardware. However, she and several colleagues were laid off the following year due to internal company restructuring.

On May 18, 2013, Ellsworth revealed a new augmented reality platform called castAR, developed in collaboration with former Valve engineer Rick Johnson and supported by Valve. Their startup, Technical Illusions, began work on castAR with plans to secure funding through a Kickstarter campaign. Ellsworth described castAR as aiming to provide "true VR and true AR," surpassing the capabilities of traditional projected augmented reality.

The castAR Kickstarter launched on October 14, 2013, rapidly exceeding its initial $400,000 target by raising $1.05 million, or 263% of the goal. Despite this success, the company was unable to bring the product to market and ultimately refunded supporters before closing operations in 2017.

In September 2019, Ellsworth initiated another Kickstarter campaign for Tilt Five, a project inspired by the concepts behind castAR. This campaign surpassed its $450,000 goal within just 17 hours and ultimately raised $1.77 million. Although production faced delays due to the Covid pandemic, Tilt Five has secured agreements within the gaming industry and continues its development efforts.

Public speaking and webcasts

Ellsworth served as a keynote presenter at the Embedded Systems Conference on May 5, 2011. Between December 2008 and March 2009, she co-hosted a weekly webcast titled Fatman and Circuit Girl alongside musician George Sanger. Additionally, on May 30, 2009, Ellsworth showcased her Home Chip Lab at Maker Faire Bay Area, highlighting her contributions to DIY electronics innovation.

Personal life

An avid pinball collector, Ellsworth owns more than 80 machines. In 2016, she obtained an Extra Class amateur radio license under the callsign AI6TK.

External links

• The Life Story of Jeri Ellsworth, American Entrepreneur & Inventor