DEF CON 34 · United States · 2026
Post-event source-documented RP2040 corporate-commission badge
trueControl's public Cobalt DC34 archive explicitly describes firmware and a board schematic for the Cobalt Badge at DEF CON 34. Its maker index groups the badge under DEF CON 34 at LVCC and labels it a corporate commission. The repository documents an RP2040-driven curved blue LED display badge with motion, ambient-light, touch, USB-C, firmware, and schematic surfaces. Those sources establish a maker-documented event-associated electronic artifact, not DEF CON issuance, an identified commissioner, attendee allocation, a credential function, or a completed recipient handoff.
People
The BASIC index identifies trueControl as publisher of the Cobalt DC34 listing and links its technical archive. This preserves a publisher role without assigning a person, sole authorship, commissioning authority, manufacture, distribution, or image-rights responsibility.
SourceCobalt is a compact example of a post-event badge whose technical archive is stronger than its public distribution trail. It keeps the hardware and firmware discoverable while preserving the distinction between a maker's DEF CON association and a verified official or attendee-wide badge programme.
The Cobalt README identifies an RP2040 with 264 KB SRAM and 1 MB XIP flash, a 38 by 5 curved blue C-LED virtual display arranged as a 12 by 16 PWM matrix, USB-C, an SC7A20H accelerometer, ambient-light detection, three rear program buttons, and a front touch sensor. It says the display's stated average maximum is about 2 mA per LED and the source tree includes a schematic directory. The public material does not establish the final PCB revision, component substitutions, power source, battery, charge/protection circuitry, dimensions, electrical measurements, compliance, or uniformity across any physical run.
The README says the code uses Pico SDK v2.3.0 and documents a VS Code Pico-plugin build path. It describes fifteen configurable programs, a USB-mounted configuration mode entered by holding PROG at power-on, and BOOT-button UF2 upload for firmware updates. The reviewed source tree has no tagged release, signed factory image, release-to-unit map, complete recovery/rollback package, security review, or support commitment, so it is linked as an inspectable maker archive rather than a general update recommendation.
The maker's BASIC index places Cobalt DC34 in its DEF CON 34 at LVCC catalogue alongside other badge work and calls it a corporate commission. The public record does not name that commissioner or explain the commission terms, manufacture, sale, giveaway, recipient group, or event role. The catalogue therefore retains the precise source-published association without turning it into an official DEF CON Human badge, admission artifact, or conference-wide attendee benefit.
Lifecycle
The README identifies an RP2040 with 264 KB SRAM and 1 MB XIP flash driving a 38 by 5 curved blue C-LED virtual display arranged as a 12 by 16 PWM matrix. It names a stated maximum average output of about 2 mA per LED. These are maker-published specifications, not an independent electrical, optical, thermal, or per-unit validation.
SourceThe documentation names an SC7A20H accelerometer, ambient-light detection, three rear program buttons, one front touch sensor, fifteen configurable programs, USB-C firmware updates, and a USB-mounted configuration mode. It says the badge reduces clock speed when waiting and can enter low power when no movement is detected, but does not provide measured power, battery, host, update, or recovery results.
SourceThe README identifies Pico SDK v2.3.0, a VS Code Pico-plugin build context, and a BOOT-button UF2 copy path. The recorded procedure is a source reference, not a recommendation to alter hardware or proof that a particular compiled binary matches an issued or commissioned unit.
SourceOperational history
The dossier records a real maker-documented event-associated electronic badge without presenting it as the official DEF CON Human badge, a DEF CON benefit, an organizer-authorized credential, or evidence that any particular person received one.
The archive remains useful for provenance and study without becoming a universal assembly, modification, update, electrical-safety, or support recommendation.
The United States record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying source-page media, documentation screenshots, event photos, social media, placeholders, or generated approximations.