Sophie Wilson
Encyclopedia
Sophie Wilson is a British
computer scientist
. She is known for designing the Acorn Micro-Computer
, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd, as well as the instruction set of the highly successful ARM processor
.
, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd.
In 1981, Wilson extended the Acorn Atom
's BASIC programming language dialect into an improved version for the Acorn Proton, a microcomputer that enabled Acorn to win the contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
for their ambitious computer education project, whereupon the Proton became the BBC Micro
and its BASIC was developed into BBC BASIC
. In 1983, she designed the instruction set for one of the first RISC processors, the Acorn RISC Machine (ARM)
, later to become one of the most successful IP
-cores (i.e., a licenced CPU
core) of the 1990s and 2000s.
Wilson designed Acorn Replay, the video architecture for Acorn machines. This included the operating system extensions for video access as well as the codec
s themselves, optimised to run high frame rate video on ARM CPUs from the ARM 2 onwards.
Wilson was a member of the board of the technology and games company Eidos plc, which bought and created Eidos Interactive
, for the years following its flotation in 1990, and was a consultant to ARM Ltd when it was split off from Acorn in 1990.
Since the demise of Acorn Computers, Wilson has made a small number of public appearances to talk about her time there.
Wilson is now the Chief Architect of Broadcom
's Firepath chip architecture in Broadcom's DSL Business Unit. Firepath has its history in Acorn Computers, which, after being renamed to Element 14, was bought by Broadcom in 2000.
Wilson is transsexual and was born Roger Wilson. In the BBC
television drama Micro Men
a young Roger Wilson is played by Stefan Butler and Wilson herself makes a cameo appearance
as a pub landlady.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
computer scientist
Computer scientist
A computer scientist is a scientist who has acquired knowledge of computer science, the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their application in computer systems....
. She is known for designing the Acorn Micro-Computer
Acorn System 1
The Acorn System 1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer , was an early 8-bit microcomputer for hobbyists, based on the MOS 6502 CPU, and produced by British company Acorn Computers from 1979....
, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd, as well as the instruction set of the highly successful ARM processor
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
.
Life and career
Wilson was educated at Cambridge University. In 1978, she designed the Acorn Micro-ComputerAcorn System 1
The Acorn System 1, initially called the Acorn Microcomputer , was an early 8-bit microcomputer for hobbyists, based on the MOS 6502 CPU, and produced by British company Acorn Computers from 1979....
, the first of a long line of computers sold by Acorn Computers Ltd.
In 1981, Wilson extended the Acorn Atom
Acorn Atom
The Acorn Atom was a home computer made by Acorn Computers Ltd from 1980 to 1982 when it was replaced by the BBC Micro and later the Acorn Electron....
's BASIC programming language dialect into an improved version for the Acorn Proton, a microcomputer that enabled Acorn to win the contract with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
for their ambitious computer education project, whereupon the Proton became the BBC Micro
BBC Micro
The BBC Microcomputer System, or BBC Micro, was a series of microcomputers and associated peripherals designed and built by Acorn Computers for the BBC Computer Literacy Project, operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation...
and its BASIC was developed into BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC
BBC BASIC is a programming language, developed in 1981 as a native programming language for the MOS Technology 6502 based Acorn BBC Micro home/personal computer, mainly by Sophie Wilson. It is a version of the BASIC programming language adapted for a U.K...
. In 1983, she designed the instruction set for one of the first RISC processors, the Acorn RISC Machine (ARM)
ARM architecture
ARM is a 32-bit reduced instruction set computer instruction set architecture developed by ARM Holdings. It was named the Advanced RISC Machine, and before that, the Acorn RISC Machine. The ARM architecture is the most widely used 32-bit ISA in numbers produced...
, later to become one of the most successful IP
Intellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
-cores (i.e., a licenced CPU
Central processing unit
The central processing unit is the portion of a computer system that carries out the instructions of a computer program, to perform the basic arithmetical, logical, and input/output operations of the system. The CPU plays a role somewhat analogous to the brain in the computer. The term has been in...
core) of the 1990s and 2000s.
Wilson designed Acorn Replay, the video architecture for Acorn machines. This included the operating system extensions for video access as well as the codec
Codec
A codec is a device or computer program capable of encoding or decoding a digital data stream or signal. The word codec is a portmanteau of "compressor-decompressor" or, more commonly, "coder-decoder"...
s themselves, optimised to run high frame rate video on ARM CPUs from the ARM 2 onwards.
Wilson was a member of the board of the technology and games company Eidos plc, which bought and created Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive
Eidos Interactive Ltd. is a British video game publisher and is a label of Square Enix Europe. As an independent company Eidos plc was headquartered in the Wimbledon Bridge House in Wimbledon, London Borough of Merton....
, for the years following its flotation in 1990, and was a consultant to ARM Ltd when it was split off from Acorn in 1990.
Since the demise of Acorn Computers, Wilson has made a small number of public appearances to talk about her time there.
Wilson is now the Chief Architect of Broadcom
Broadcom
Broadcom Corporation is a fabless semiconductor company in the wireless and broadband communication business. The company is headquartered in Irvine, California, USA. Broadcom was founded by a professor-student pair Henry Samueli and Henry T. Nicholas III from the University of California, Los...
's Firepath chip architecture in Broadcom's DSL Business Unit. Firepath has its history in Acorn Computers, which, after being renamed to Element 14, was bought by Broadcom in 2000.
Wilson is transsexual and was born Roger Wilson. In the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television drama Micro Men
Micro Men
Micro Men is a one-off BBC drama television show set in the late 1970s and 1980s, about the rise of the British home computer market, particularly the rivalry between Sir Clive Sinclair who developed the ZX Spectrum, and Chris Curry - the man behind the BBC Micro; played by Alexander Armstrong and...
a young Roger Wilson is played by Stefan Butler and Wilson herself makes a cameo appearance
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as a pub landlady.
See also
- Acorn ComputersAcorn ComputersAcorn Computers Ltd. was a British computer company established in Cambridge, England, in 1978. The company produced a number of computers which were especially popular in the UK. These included the Acorn Electron, the BBC Micro, and the Acorn Archimedes...
- Steve FurberSteve FurberProfessor Stephen Byram Furber CBE, FRS, FREng is the ICL Professor of Computer Engineering at the School of Computer Science at the University of Manchester but is probably best known for his work at Acorn where he was one of the designers of the BBC Micro and the ARM 32-bit RISC...
- Hermann HauserHermann HauserHermann Maria Hauser, CBE FREng FinstP CPhys , is an entrepreneur who was born in Vienna, Austria but is primarily associated with Silicon Fen in England....
- List of programmers
- List of transgendered people
External links
- An interview with Sophie Wilson
- Sophie Wilson's home page
- BBC Micro News: Acorn Archimedes technology (part 1 of 2), featuring Roger Wilson
- BBC Micro News: Acorn Archimedes technology (part 2 of 2), featuring Roger Wilson