DEF CON 34 · United States · 2026
Pre-event FirstBuild / GE Appliances 100-free-badge washer/dryer motion giveaway project
FirstBuild's official DefCon34-Badge repository describes an Arduino-compatible FirstBuild / GE Appliances washer/dryer badge for DEF CON 34. Its README names a current production target of an STM32G031F8P6 with an MXC6655XA three-axis accelerometer and eight SK6805 side-emitting RGB LEDs, driving an infinity-mirror water effect that follows gravity. The repository publishes firmware, a schematic PDF, an MIT license for software and associated documentation, and a distribution guide that says the project is intended to be distributed as firmware installed on physical badges. A first-person r/Defcon post reviewed on 2026-08-05 says its public-account author is returning with the GE Appliances booth in IoT Village, has another 100 free badges to give away, and plans an unspecified number per day; it calls the item a cartoon UltraFast Washer/Dryer Combo with a motion-responsive infinity mirror. In a comment, the author says the artwork, PCB design, and software were done in-house at FirstBuild. That account statement does not independently establish the author's employment, formal FirstBuild or GE Appliances authority, official booth authorization, final stock, or completed handoff. GitHub still shows no release or tag, and the record remains a separate event-associated pre-event project, not the official DEF CON attendee credential or an image-reuse grant.
People
The public Reddit account authored the 100-free-badge IoT Village giveaway update and in-house provenance comment. This narrow credit does not infer a real identity, employment, FirstBuild or GE Appliances authority, individual creator role, official DEF CON or booth authorization, or image-reuse rights.
SourceThe official FirstBuild organization publishes the DefCon34-Badge repository; its root MIT license names FirstBuild and GE Appliances among the 2026 copyright holders. This records source-visible publisher and copyright context, not final manufacture, event issuance, individual hardware authorship, badge allocation, or image-reuse authority.
SourceThe FirstBuild README credits Phil Back for the badge artwork. The credit preserves that source attribution without treating it as an image license, reuse permission, sole artifact authorship, or event-organizer role.
SourceThe repository's root MIT license names the DefCon 34 Badge Team in its 2026 copyright line. The narrow credit does not infer membership, sole design responsibility, DEF CON organizer status, final production, or media rights.
SourceThis is a rare current DEF CON 34 badge source with public firmware, a schematic, defined production-target components, source-distribution policy, named artwork credit, an explicit release process, and a concrete public 100-badge giveaway announcement before the event. It also demonstrates why an unusually complete repository and a first-person availability statement must still be kept distinct from final manufactured hardware, a signed tagged build, exact daily allocation, conference admission, official booth authorization, and artwork rights.
The README calls the current production target an STM32G031F8P6 Cortex-M0+ at 64 MHz with 64 KB flash and 8 KB SRAM, an MXC6655XA I2C accelerometer, and eight SK6805SIDE-G-003 RGB LEDs in a gravity-responsive infinity-mirror ring. It identifies an active-low mode button, SWD programming, and no native USB; the repository also publishes a schematic PDF. Earlier Adafruit KB2040, LSM6DSOX, and twelve-WS2812B material is retained as a prototype profile. The sources do not establish a final hardware revision, BOM, native CAD, PCB fabrication archive, finished power system, battery, enclosure, factory outcome, test measurements, certification, or that the current target was installed in every planned badge.
The public MIT-licensed code is Arduino-compatible and uses PlatformIO build profiles for normal, demo, and factory-test firmware. Its documented behavior includes a gravity-responsive blue/cyan water effect, selectable LED modes, dim/off and motion-wake behavior, a watchdog, sensor-fault indication, and factory checks for LED order and motion sensing. The distribution guide says an exact installed firmware should correspond to a permanent tagged GitHub release with source, notices, objects, hashes, and installation material. As reviewed on 2026-08-05, no GitHub release or tag was public, so no currently visible build is represented as the final badge firmware, a production release, or a safe user-service procedure.
The repository's MIT copyright names the DefCon 34 Badge Team, FirstBuild, and GE Appliances, while the README credits Phil Back for the badge artwork. A public r/Defcon author says they are returning with the GE Appliances booth in IoT Village, will give away another 100 badges in an unspecified per-day allocation, and describes a cartoon UltraFast Washer/Dryer Combo with an infinity mirror and moving-water animation; the same account says FirstBuild employees created its artwork, PCB design, and software. Those public-account statements establish a narrow pre-event giveaway and provenance claim, not the author's identity or employment, official booth authorization, exact daily quantity or eligibility, physical stock, completed distribution, or creator-wide attribution. DEF CON separately announces a Baochip Human badge for the 2026 event; this FirstBuild repository does not say it is that credential, so the catalogue keeps this as a distinct FirstBuild / GE Appliances event-associated pre-event badge without claiming conference admission or organizer issuance.
Lifecycle
The project describes an infinity-mirror LED ring whose blue/cyan water effect follows gravity with damping, with selectable modes, dim/off behavior, motion wake, inactivity handling, watchdog recovery, and sensor-fault indication. This describes public intended software behavior, not final LED optics, battery runtime, motion accuracy, accessibility, production-firmware parity, or operation of a distributed badge.
SourceFirstBuild's public repository identifies a DefCon 34 washer/dryer badge and a FirstBuild / GE Appliances context, while DEF CON's own event source separately identifies the Baochip Human badge. Separately, a public Reddit author says they will give away 100 badges from a stated GE Appliances IoT Village booth. No reviewed official organizer source confirms that booth arrangement, and the sources do not say this washer/dryer project is a Human badge, is included with registration, grants admission, is issued by DEF CON, or has completed event availability.
SourceThe public r/Defcon author says another 100 free badges are planned at the stated GE Appliances booth in IoT Village and that an unspecified number will be given away each day. The statement does not give a daily split, distribution dates or hours, eligibility, queue or pickup process, recipient list, completed build count, final physical stock, completed handoff, or official organizer confirmation.
SourceIn a public comment, the author says the badge was designed in-house at FirstBuild and that employees created the artwork, PCB design, and software. This preserves a narrow public provenance statement without identifying individuals, establishing the author's employment or authority, independently verifying every contribution, assigning image rights, or extending the statement into a formal FirstBuild, GE Appliances, or DEF CON attribution.
SourceThe distribution guide says physical-badge firmware should map to a permanent GitHub release with source, notices, relinkable objects, hashes, and installation information. The public releases surface had no release or tag on 2026-08-05, so the guide is recorded as a planned compliance path, not evidence of an installed final binary, completed distribution, or production traceability.
SourceThe README documents Arduino-compatible firmware and PlatformIO profiles for normal, demo, and factory-test builds, including tests for LED order, orientation, and shake sensing. The code and documentation do not establish a public tagged event release, production test log, safe user modification path, support obligation, or actual configuration in an assembled badge.
SourceThe FirstBuild repository publishes a schematic PDF, firmware tree, and MIT license for software and associated documentation. These sources establish a valuable design and software trail, but do not automatically cover credited artwork, photographs, trademarks, every third-party dependency, a final hardware manufacturing package, or a selected reusable badge image.
SourceThe README names an STM32G031F8P6 Cortex-M0+ controller, MXC6655XA I2C accelerometer, and eight SK6805SIDE-G-003 side-emitting RGB LEDs as the current production target. It is source-backed design intent, not proof that this exact hardware was manufactured, placed on every board, tested, or distributed.
SourceOperational history
Hardware claims stay tied to public source targets and documentation rather than becoming a final board specification, manufacturing result, complete build recipe, or evidence that any given unit contains a specific component set.
The record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying the repository photo, README graphic, Reddit media, schematic preview, event graphics, screenshots, placeholders, or generated approximations.
Public firmware behavior is not a battery-runtime guarantee, electrical-safety endorsement, factory-pass record, motion-accuracy claim, or safe-modification instruction.
The catalogue records the specific public 100-badge pre-event plan while treating the artifact as a distinct FirstBuild / GE Appliances project associated with DEF CON 34, not an official Human badge, universal attendee entitlement, registration credential, organizer-issued artifact, confirmed event availability, or completed distribution.
The catalogue does not treat repository main as a released production image, a firmware actually installed on badges, a reproducible event build, or a completed compliance archive.
The catalogue can cite the software/documentation licensing trail while retaining image, artwork, logo, trademark, and dependency-specific rights boundaries.