When the renowned computer scientist Grace Hopper discovered that a moth stuck in the relays
had caused her mainframe to go on the fritz, she joked it was the first instance of an actual
bug in the system. Bugs, glitches and crashes are an everyday nuisance in the life of a software
developer, but some surprises can also result in unexpected breakthroughs.
Celebrating these happy accidents, this installation, which premieres at this year’s Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing,
invites participants to visit the Microsoft Booth to create bugs on purpose! Participants combine tangible
objects in unique combinations, then place their creation into a cabinet and watch a virtual version rise
into the tank. The creators name their creature and it wriggles to life, joining the tank to interact with the other creations.
All the creations are featured in this gallery.
Created by Specular Projects
James George - Technical Direction
Alexander Porter - Fabrication Design
Mei-Ling Wong - Production
In Collaboration With
Keetra Dean Dixon - Concept Design
Philip Sierzega - Design Lead
Aaron Meyers - Unity Development
Lars Berg - Web Development
Mel Nguyen - Design
Matthew Wilson - 3D Design
Steph Mantis Design - Toy Fabrication
Tri-Lox Workshop - Physical Fabrication
The Virtual Aquarium installation is supported by
Microsoft and
Kinect for Windows.