Jack McCauley

Jack Jean McCauley
Born December 3, 1959
Battle Creek, Michigan, United States
Residence Livermore, California
Nationality United States
Education Bachelor of Science, University of California, Berkeley
Occupation Inventor, engineer, video game developer
Known for Guitar Hero, Oculus Rift
Children Sean McCauley, William McCauley
Website r0r3.com
Notes

Jack McCauley is an American engineer, inventor and video game developer. He invented the first scrolling feature of the computer mouse and designed the guitars and drums for the Guitar Hero video game series.[2][3] He also worked on the Oculus DK1 and DK2 virtual reality headset.[1][4]

Early life and education

McCauley was born on December 3, 1959 in Battle Creek, Michigan.

In 1980, McCauley was accepted to the U.S. Navy Nuclear Power School to work at Westinghouse Reactor Design.[5] From 1980 to 1984, he attended the University of California, Berkeley on a scholarship from the Information Assurance Scholarship Program (ISAP),[6] awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense and the National Security Agency.[5] He specialized in electronics and circuit theory and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1986.[1][2] He has credited the University of California, Berkeley with sparking his career. "Cal kicked everything off for me," he told Berkeley students at a December 2014 lecture at the university.[1]

McCauley has stated that his interest in the fundamentals of engineering began at an early age. "I would spend hours drawing and painting," he said at his December 2014 Berkeley lecture. “I liked to pick things up and draw them, try to study them, and then take them apart. Many of my days consisted of going to the library and reading books. Then at night, I would go home, pick up some model or something at the store, take it apart, and put it back together. That’s basically what I liked to do,” he said.[1]

Career

McCauley started his professional career working for the U.S. Department of Defense.[2] After graduating from Berkeley, he worked for a year for Temescal and then for 14 years, from 1991 to 2005, as an engineer for various companies, including Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, where his responsibilities included the development of USB drives, kernel mode drivers, arcade machines and video game related peripherals.[2][5][6] The position at Microsoft was followed by others in the video game industry, first at RedOctane and Activision as Director of Research, and then at Electronic Arts. In 2012, he co-founded Oculus VR, where he served as Vice President of Engineering.[1][5][7][8][9] At Oculus, McCauley also had overseen the China-based manufacturing of development versions of the Oculus Rift, the company's virtual reality head-mounted display.[10]

Also in June 2015, McCauley and his family announced a contribution of $2.5 million to establish the McCauley Family Fund in Design Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley.[11]

Accomplishments

McCauley has authored research papers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and mathematical modeling of AI-based systems. His inventions, patents, and intellectual property span multiple technologies. He is one of the authors and originators of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) specification,[6] and is an expert in Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

As architect and research head for RedOctane, McCauley was the chief engineer, designer and a key contributor to the Guitar Hero game series.[12] He designed the electronics for the Guitar Hero guitars and drum controller, which formed the basis for all subsequent Guitar Hero versions.[13] Other video games that he has designed include Time Crisis II and Time Crisis 3, Silent Scope, Dance Dance Revolution, Area51, EA Sports Active 2 and Grand Theft Auto.[14]

Video Game Role Developer
Forza Motorsport Modeling Microsoft
Guitar Hero Designer RedOctane
Guitar Hero II Designer Activision
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Designer Activision
Guitar Hero World Tour Chief Designer Activision
Time Crisis II Designer Namco
Time Crisis 3 Designer Namco
Silent Scope Designer Konami
Dance Dance Revolution Designer Konami
Gran Turismo 2 Designer Sony Entertainment
Area 51 Designer Mesa Logic
EA Sports Active 2 Designer EA Sports
Grand Theft Auto Designer Take2

Through his development work on Guitar Hero and work for Electronic Arts and others, McCauley has been a key figure in incorporating MEMS technology into video games.

McCauley's inventions include the wireless video game steering wheel, the video game light gun, the composite HID USB device for gaming, and the guitar and drum controller for the Guitar Hero franchise.[2][12][13] He holds more than a dozen different patents for his inventions,[2] including game controllers, haptic technology, and sports and medical physiology measuring devices.[15]

Personal life

McCauley lives in Livermore, California.[5]

External links

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Maker Hero: Alumnus Jack McCauley on Guitar Hero, Oculus and the Future of Making," Berkeley Innovators, retrieved March 22, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Cacho, Gieson (16 October 2008). "'Guitar' hero: Danville resident was instrumental in designing controller". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  3. ↑ "More Guitar Hero World tidbits," by Gieson Cacho, A+E Interactive, October 16, 2008, retrieved March 22, 2015.
  4. ↑ "'Oculus VR, Jack McCauley VP Engineering". 10 October 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 "Jack McCauley". LinkedIn. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  6. 1 2 3 "Jacj J. McCauley". Zoominfo. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  7. ↑ "Meet the Genius Behind Oculus Rift," by Chris Raymond, Success, May 23, 2014, retrieved March 22, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Former Gaikai and Scaleform Officer, Brendan Iribe, Joins Oculus VR™ as CEO," Oculus VR press release, August 14, 2012, retrieved March 22, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Virtual reality set for boost from Oculus and Morpheus, but challenges remain," by Gieson Cacho, San Jose Mercury News, June 5, 2015, retrieved June 29, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey on the future of VR: we'll double the resolution within a year," by Dan Griliopoulos, PC Gamer, January 7, 2013, retrieved March 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Designer of scrolling mouse and Oculus Rift funds design innovation," by Kirsten Mickelwait, Berkeley Engineer Magazine, June 16, 2015, retrieved June 29, 2015.
  12. 1 2 "Jack McCauley". MobyGames. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  13. 1 2 Cacho, Gieson (16 October 2008). "More Guitar Hero World Tour tidbits". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
  14. ↑ "Jack McCauley". IMDB. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  15. ↑ "Jack McCauley". Google Patents. Retrieved 13 December 2012.
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