Jeri Ellsworth co-filed U.S. patent application US20050146883A1 on synchronizing fiducial markers, foundational to later AR/VR tracking technology.
On November 24, 2004, Jeri Ellsworth was listed among the inventors on the U.S. patent application titled "System and method for synchronizing fiducial markers" (US20050146883A1).
Fiducial markers are reference points used by computer vision systems to determine position, orientation, and identity of tracked objects — a critical building block in augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) systems, as well as robotics and motion capture. Synchronizing these markers accurately in time and space is a nontrivial engineering problem, particularly in systems intended for consumer-grade interactive hardware rather than expensive laboratory setups.
This filing, made years before augmented reality became a mainstream consumer category, demonstrates Ellsworth's early and prescient involvement in spatial computing technology. It predates her widely publicized work at Valve and her later ventures such as Technical Illusions and Tilt Five by roughly a decade, indicating that her interest in immersive interactive hardware began very early in her career.
The patent stands as documented evidence of her technical contributions at the intersection of optics, embedded systems, and human-computer interaction — a domain in which she would continue to innovate for the following two decades, eventually accumulating more than 100 patents in hardware and AR/VR technology.