LayerOne 2018 · United States · 2018

LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

ESP32-WROOM-32 audio badge with Alexa experiment path

LayerOne 2018's electronic badge was an ESP32-WROOM-32-based audio and network badge documented by the official HHV archive, Hackaday's event report, the linked CharlieX ESP32_Alexa repository, and mmca's public hardware notes.

LayerOne United States Pasadena ESP32 ESP32-WROOM-32 Alexa I2S Audio 18650 GPIO Add-on Hardware Hacking Village North America

EventLayerOne 2018

SeriesLayerOne

LocationPasadena Hilton, Pasadena, California

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

add-on hardware author

mmca

mmca's Hackaday.io hardware log documents the official Blinky Ball SAO add-on for the 2018 L1 badge.

Source

badge source publisher

charliex / charlie-x

The public ESP32_Alexa repository under charlie-x preserves the linked source trail for the 2018 badge's ESP32 Alexa experiment.

Source

event and badge-page publisher

LayerOne

Official LayerOne HHV pages establish the public electronic-badge link trail for the 2018 badge.

Source

event-report author

Roger Cheng

Hackaday's LayerOne 2018 report by Roger Cheng documents the badge hardware, audio/Alexa experiment, and village context.

Source

Why It Mattered

It fills the LayerOne lineage between the 2017 CAN-bus badge and the later 2023 return, showing the badge team pivoting from vehicle interfaces to a cheap ESP32 voice/audio platform with soldering-village add-ons, GPIO exposure, and deliberate privacy caveats around cloud voice experiments.

Hardware

Hackaday identifies the badge around an ESP32-WROOM-32 module, I2S audio hardware, a 2-watt speaker amplifier, a microphone pre-amplifier, an 18650 cell and charging circuit, buttons, and GPIO breakout pads. The mmca hardware log also ties the 2018 L1 badge to an official blinking LayerOne logo add-on using a 3.3 V, GPIO2, and ground add-on connector.

Software & Apps

Hackaday and the CharlieX repository frame the badge as an Alexa experiment derived from MakerAsia ESP32_Alexa work, with ESP-IDF, voice assistant / streaming audio code, button handling, GPIO paths, and enough source to experiment with the ESP32 platform. The record treats this as a source-backed experiment rather than proof that every shipped badge had a complete production voice-assistant stack.

Lore

Hackaday's 2018 LayerOne report describes the badge as cheap and interesting enough that cloud-scale Alexa service costs shaped the default conference behavior. The same report highlights Badge Hacking 101, soldering areas, a companion blinky add-on, and the local badge-hacking culture around the LayerOne Hardware Hacking Village.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

audio interface source-backed

I2S audio and amplifier path

The event report documents I2S audio hardware, a 2-watt speaker amplifier, and a microphone pre-amplifier for the voice/audio experiment path.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

badge add-on source-backed

Blinky Ball SAO add-on

mmca's Hackaday.io log documents an official blinking LayerOne logo add-on for the 2018 L1 badge and its 3.3 V, GPIO2, and ground connector path.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

badge controller source-backed

ESP32-WROOM-32 badge core

Hackaday identifies the 2018 LayerOne badge around an ESP32-WROOM-32 module with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-capable microcontroller hardware.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

badge expansion documented

GPIO breakout hacking surface

The event report notes GPIO breakout pads for attendee hacking and experimenting beyond the default badge behavior.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

badge software partial archive

ESP32 Alexa source trail

The linked CharlieX repository preserves an ESP32 Alexa experiment source trail derived from MakerAsia work, which the catalogue records without claiming a complete deployed production voice-assistant service.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

power subsystem source-backed

18650 battery and charging circuit

Hackaday describes an 18650 cell and charging circuit as part of the badge hardware package.

Compatibility: LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

hardware-media rights caveat note

Visible official, Hackaday, and Hackaday.io media prove the badge and add-on context, but no specific LayerOne 2018 badge photo or full upstream raster has been paired with complete reusable image license or permission, attribution, source URL, and processing notes.

The entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying article photos, event media, repository screenshots, or project images without full provenance.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: documented
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, LayerOne HHV page, Hackaday article media, GitHub repository, and mmca Hackaday.io project media.

missing rights-cleared image note

No LayerOne 2018 ESP32 Alexa Badge image is published because the current public source trail has not been paired with a reusable original badge or artifact photo or official upstream raster render with source URL, license or permission basis, attribution, and processing notes.

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.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy and LayerOne 2018 HHV, InfoconDB, Hackaday, CharlieX repository, and mmca Hackaday.io source trail.

service-scaling caveat note

Hackaday reports that the intended Alexa-style voice service was expensive to scale for hundreds of devices, so the catalogue treats Alexa behavior as an experiment and source trail rather than claiming full cloud voice-assistant service for every attendee badge.

The record preserves the voice/audio ambition without overstating default deployed service behavior.

Confidence: event report
Status: documented with caution
Timeframe: LayerOne 2018
Source note: Hackaday LayerOne 2018 badge report and CharlieX ESP32_Alexa repository.

source-depth caveat note

The public sources prove the ESP32 audio badge, repository trail, and add-on connector, but this pass did not recover a complete final schematic, BOM, production package, firmware release tag, or attendee challenge archive.

The record keeps hardware and software statements tied to public evidence while avoiding unsupported production-scale and final-firmware claims.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: needs deeper artifact inventory
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: LayerOne HHV archive, Hackaday event report, CharlieX repository, and mmca add-on log.

Resources

Badge Bling and More at LayerOne 2018 event report · Hackaday source for ESP32-WROOM-32, I2S audio, amplifier, microphone preamp, 18650 power, GPIO breakout, Alexa experiment framing, soldering village, and blinky add-on context. Blinky Ball SAO for Layer One badge add-on log · mmca hardware log tying the 2018 L1 badge to an official blinking LayerOne logo add-on using a 3.3 V, GPIO2, and ground add-on connector. ESP32_Alexa README badge documentation · Repository README source for the ESP32 Alexa experiment lineage, software setup, and source-license boundary. ESP32_Alexa repository source repo · Public CharlieX repository linked from Hackaday's 2018 LayerOne badge coverage for the ESP32 Alexa experiment source trail. LayerOne 2018 InfoconDB entry conference archive · Conference archive source for the May 25-27, 2018 Pasadena Hilton LayerOne event context. LayerOne Hardware Hacking Village official village page · Official HHV page identifying the 2018 Electronic Badge and linking Hackaday's full article for build and badge details.

Sources

GitHub / charlie-x: charlie-x/ESP32_Alexa Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Public source repository linked from the Hackaday article for the badge's ESP32 Alexa experiment code trail. GitHub / charlie-x: ESP32_Alexa README Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Repository documentation source for the ESP32 Alexa experiment lineage and source-license boundary. Hackaday / Roger Cheng: Badge Bling and More at LayerOne 2018 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · First-hand event report source for the ESP32-WROOM-32 badge hardware, audio/Alexa experiment path, cloud-cost caveat, soldering village, and official blinky add-on context. Hackaday.io / mmca: Blinky Ball SAO for Layer One Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Project-owner hardware log source for the official blinking LayerOne logo add-on and the 2018 badge add-on connector pinout. InfoconDB: LayerOne 2018 Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Conference archive source proving the May 25-27, 2018 Pasadena Hilton LayerOne event context. LayerOne: Hardware Hacking Village Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official village source naming the 2018 Electronic Badge and linking Hackaday's article for full build details.