Lifecycle
Badge ecosystems keep moving after handout: apps, hexpansions, SAOs, antennas, cases, repair parts, firmware updates, and post-event hardware experiments.
The badge included multi-badge communication through a wired interface, and the role shapes also formed a seven-piece physical puzzle.
SourceThe project page describes an IoT Bluetooth mesh where badges connected over USB serial could join the conference network and remotely execute badge commands within the badge-game framing.
SourceThe official CFP says accepted speakers and mentors receive a special conference badge and a participant badge for a designated plus-one. This record preserves that named distinction without claiming the special badge's design, technology, recipient count, issuance, or relation to the participant-badge artifact beyond the CFP wording.
SourceThe expansion adds two protected 18650 cells, an on/off switch, USB-C charging from the Konsool/Tanmatsu, and mounting holes.
SourceWIRED documented the black Uber badge as a more elaborate artifact with a hand-assembled mechanical watch, exposed aging copper, and one-time-pad puzzle relevance.
SourceThe official workshop hardware summary and repository README document USB-C, two Qwiic ports, a microSD slot, battery management, and battery connector support.
SourceThe badge outline was designed so the arms and legs could be broken out or used as LAN taps.
SourceThe writeup describes the badge head as a USB 3.0 breakout section.
SourceThe dedicated RP2040 firmware repository documents the badge's board-management co-processor as a separate maintained software component.
SourceA separately published bootloader derived from the Adafruit nRF52 bootloader. Holding the DFU button at power-on opens an EKOBOOT USB drive for UF2 firmware updates; a HEX image is used for the first SWD flash.
Sourcenaomi's Breadboard Tester is scoped to breadboard hexpansions and toggles eGPIO and GPIO pins, making hardware bring-up and pin probing part of the app-store lifecycle.
SourceThe SHA2017 docs and Hack42 WebUSB installer preserve the browser-based badge installation path used by the Badge.Team platform.
SourceThe component notes describe socketed LED matrices and ESP8266 modules, header-pin quantities, 3xAA battery testing, USB power as a fallback, and a stated USD 9.44 per-badge cost.
SourceThe standard reserves PROG pins for builder use and lists optional AVR ISP, ST-Link SWD, PIC ICSP, and UART pin mappings.
SourceHackaday's speaker announcement says the four winning Supercon SAO contest entries were being put into the Hackaday Europe 2025 schwag bag.
SourceHackaday documented four included starter petals: capacitive touch wheel, spiral LED petal matrix, blank protoboard, and CH32V003 I2C microcontroller proto-petal.
SourceThe ticket preview lists the Supercon touch wheel, LED spiral, and CH32V003 prototyping boards as included with the Europe badge/add-on bag.
SourceRomHack Camp 2026 was advertised pre-event with a unique hardware badge and collectible challenge. The released firmware's TagQuest app is the likely badge-side mechanic, but the organizers have not tied the two together in public text.
SourceThe Euphoria CTF page directs players to register a Shady Tag at the Shadytel Experience Center before starting the badge challenge.
SourceSputnik/OpenBeacon tags were read by 30+ OpenBeacon base stations installed around the event venue.
SourceThe feedback page records attendee frustration that badge issuing queues were extremely long, turning a simple identity object into a visible camp-operations issue.
SourceThe badge page documents assembly into a regular-mouth canning jar with a CR2032 holder, six LEDs, resistors, and an MSP430G2211 controller.
SourceThe firmware exposed schedule viewing plus AP and schedule-sync modes so attendees could update and interact with camp data from the badge.
SourceThe wiki describes hidden beacons around EMWave/Stubnitz: reaching a clue location and holding the badge near the matching letter lit the corresponding location LED, with progress preserved in EEPROM.
SourceFront case STLs for single- and multi-colour printers and a back-case 3MF with integrated supports, fastened with M3x6 screws.
SourceThe badge frame has a LEGO-compatible 2x4 socket where a floppy disk's shutter would sit, and the official Badge Customizer exports STLs for a custom printed shutter with drawn, typed, or imported SVG artwork in several filament colours.
SourceThe case page linked DXF outlines, simple laser-cut enclosures, SMA-compatible variants, 3D-printable cases, and a limited 32C3 screw-and-spacer kit.
SourceThe public CTF repository preserves write-up entry points for Rooting, Mr Bean Walker, BruteSearcher, NoNameCon SpyNet, Ployka PWNer, Binary Hero, and Side Blennel.
SourceThe public hardware tree preserves a badge challenge directory with bitmap, JPEG, PNG, and PSD assets tied to the 2022 badge archive.
SourceThe DC540 write-up ties the package to HC CTF badge material, but this record does not infer unrecovered challenge hardware, firmware, or scoring details.
SourceThe same attendee report says each badge arrived with one pre-installed clue and could connect to other badges so participants could exchange clues while solving puzzles, ciphers, games, and hacks.
SourceThe same public source says participants could hack the badge and bypass the contest altogether.
SourceThe project README documents a virtual companion and online-challenge context. The catalogue records that high-level relationship without reproducing service details, credentials, operational endpoints, or challenge solutions.
SourceThe official controller-screen repository documents an ESP32 screen interface that controlled 2023 badge LEDs over BLE mesh, exposed debug/admin menu behavior, sent messages/popups, and used secure boot on competition boards.
SourceThe finalist writeup says each TISC@DEF CON SG finals participant was handed an ESP32 hardware trinket for one of the on-site challenges.
SourceThe writeup documents multiple clue texts triggered by toggling DIP switches and pressing a badge button, turning a small hardware input surface into the puzzle selector.
SourceThe write-up documents special Commander badges used by SAINTCON Committee members to help Agent rings progress through later challenge stages.
SourceDatko says Matt Lorimer found one of the SAINTCON secrets by examining the badge source code, tying the badge to the Hacker Challenge trail.
SourceThe recovered wrap-up states that the badge contained secrets, but no public challenge archive or firmware source was recovered in this pass.
SourceSecOps directs badge participants to Vulnmachines to solve the badge hacking challenge and receive the binary codes needed to unlock the badge.
SourceHackers Challenge, Tamper Evident, Scavenger Hunt, Vault Badge, and HACK-IN-THE-BOX entries preserve reward paths tied to game masters, contest completion, enough collected items, or event participation.
SourceThe guide includes Hackers Challenge, HACK-letter, Scavenger Hunt, and other game-adjacent MiniBadges with acquisition paths tied to game masters, challenge completion, or BadgeLife community interaction.
SourceThe badge CTF is framed as an airship journey with touch-key and serial navigation, games, riddles, and harder crypto, reverse-engineering, and memory-corruption challenges.
SourceThe badge CTF uses a serial monitor at 9600 baud; sending three stars enters CTF mode and solving eight cryptography puzzles unlocks eight building lights.
SourceThe badge presents itself as both HID and serial; HID button output gives onboarding and clues, while listening on the serial interface reveals the path into the PGP/key-recovery challenge.
SourceThe guide documents a serial CTF menu with visual hardware debugging, reverse engineering, RF hacking, and crypto protection categories.
SourceThe README describes the BLE game and high-level Wargames-themed challenge access through UART with SAO context. The catalogue deliberately does not reproduce challenge procedures, values, answers, credentials, or operational details.
SourceThe same official note connects the badge context to network challenges, simulated IPv6 workstations, an RF monitoring station, and a provided smartcard.
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