Robotic Hacking Community at DEF CON 34 · United States · 2026

Robotic Hacking Community DEF CON 34 AI-Connected Badge

Post-event STM32U073 badge with MIT firmware, AI control, and CTF surface

A post-event official RHC firmware release documents the AI-Connected DEF CON 34 badge as an STM32U073 device with a 1.54-inch 200×200 e-paper display, two WS2812 eyes, arm LED, buzzer, vibration motor, NEC infrared, CH340 USB serial, four buttons, on-badge CTF challenges, and AI Interactive Mode. The MIT-licensed source and binary were published August 18-20 after the scheduled August 6-9 Las Vegas programme. This establishes a released badge platform, not a recipient count, individual pickup, or a complete production ledger.

Robotic Hacking Community DEF CON 34 United States Las Vegas Post-event Release STM32U073 MIT Licensed Firmware AI Control MCP E-Paper Infrared CTF Robot Security North America

EventRobotic Hacking Community at DEF CON 34

SeriesRobotic Hacking Community

LocationLas Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

event, badge, CTF, and firmware documentation publisher

Robotic Hacking Community

Official publisher of the DEF CON 34 AI-Connected badge material, experimental CTF pages, official badge documentation, and linked firmware release.

Source

firmware and host-control repository publisher

robotichackingcommunity

GitHub organization hosting the public MIT `rhc-badge-firmware` archive and separate `rhc-badge-ai-control` tooling repository; reviewed sources do not establish individual hardware, art, manufacturing, or distribution authorship.

Source

Why It Mattered

It replaces a pre-event promise with a maker-published firmware and hardware dossier. The release makes the badge's actual MCU, interfaces, build path, CTF mechanics, and AI-control protocol inspectable while keeping issuance, production, and image-rights claims at the evidence boundary.

Hardware

The official RHC badge documentation and MIT repository identify an STM32U073CBT6 (LQFP48), a 1.54-inch 200×200 monochrome bistable e-paper panel, two WS2812 eye LEDs, arm backlight LED, buzzer, vibration motor, NEC infrared transmitter and TSOP38438 receiver, four buttons, CH340 USB serial at 115200 baud, and SWD pads. The source maps the e-paper on SPI and derives an eight-byte CTF serial from the MCU UID. It does not publish a schematic, BOM, Gerbers, PCB dimensions, battery/power chain, manufacturing run, or final physical-variant inventory.

Software & Apps

The public MIT `rhc-badge-firmware` repository supplies Arduino/STM32duino source, a prebuilt binary, build and SWD-flashing instructions, an e-paper UI, LED/IR/motor/music controls, and CTF code. AI Interactive Mode uses line-based JSON over the CH340 UART; the released documentation describes an on-badge Konami challenge, snake-style challenge, and serial-only challenges. The related `rhc-badge-ai-control` repository remains a separate host-side MCP, Claude-skill, web, and HTTP-control integration rather than the badge firmware itself.

Lore

RHC scheduled its DEF CON 34 Las Vegas programme for August 6-9, with on-site registration and physical-badge pickup required for its experimental CTF. The public firmware repository was initialized August 18 and updated through August 20, so this dossier now records an inspectable post-event release rather than an unreleased planned build. The source does not establish final attendance, recipient eligibility, individual handoff, firmware parity for every issued unit, production quantity, or a rights-cleared documentary badge image.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge challenge official released firmware documentation

On-badge CTF challenges

The released documentation identifies a Konami-code challenge, a snake-style game, registration QR behavior, and serial-only challenges. The event CTF's final operation and individual results remain unrecovered.

Compatibility: Robotic Hacking Community DEF CON 34 AI-Connected Badge

Source

badge operating mode official released firmware documentation

AI Interactive mode

Official firmware documentation says AI Interactive Mode accepts line-based JSON commands over the CH340 USB serial link. The related public control repository adds MCP, Claude-skill, web, and HTTP host tooling.

Compatibility: Robotic Hacking Community DEF CON 34 AI-Connected Badge

Source

host integration public host-control documentation

MCP and web host-control tooling

The repository documents a Python MCP server and Claude skill plus a local web control panel and HTTP API that send JSON/event commands over the badge's UART connection.

Compatibility: Robotic Hacking Community DEF CON 34 AI-Connected Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

hardware production and power documentation gap note

The release identifies the MCU and several interfaces, but does not publish a schematic, BOM, Gerbers, PCB dimensions, battery or power chain, charging behavior, manufacturing run, final physical variants, electrical test results, safety documentation, or certification record.

Published firmware detail is not represented as a complete open-hardware, production, or safety dossier.

Confidence: official documentation and MIT repository
Status: firmware and interface documentation released; production record incomplete
Timeframe: reviewed 2026-09-05
Source note: RHC official badge documentation and `rhc-badge-firmware` repository.

missing rights-cleared image note

No RHC DEF CON 34 badge image is published because the official RHC pages and public repositories do not pair a specific badge image with source URL, reusable license or explicit permission basis, attribution, and processing notes.

The United States record remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying event media, repository previews, social-media photos, screenshots, placeholders, or generated approximations.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy and reviewed Robotic Hacking Community sources.

recipient allocation and fulfillment boundary note

RHC scheduled on-site physical-badge pickup for DEF CON 34 and later published firmware, but reviewed sources do not establish recipient eligibility, a distribution count, unit serial allocation, individual pickup, final firmware parity for every issued badge, or CTF participation/results.

The dossier records a released badge platform without converting event and source-release evidence into a completed attendee-delivery ledger.

Confidence: primary official sources
Status: post-event source release; recipient outcome unrecovered
Timeframe: reviewed 2026-09-05
Source note: Robotic Hacking Community home, CTF, badge documentation, and firmware repository.

Resources

RHC Badge official documentation official badge documentation · Official post-event RHC documentation for firmware v2.0.0, STM32U073CBT6 hardware, e-paper/LED/IR/UART interfaces, build and SWD flashing, CTF behavior, and AI Interactive Mode. It does not establish production or allocation. RHC DEF CON 34 CTF official CTF page · Official experimental CTF rules/context page covering venue sign-up, physical-badge pickup, firmware-reversing work, and the controlled API-only digital-twin simulation; it says details may change. Robotic Hacking Community official event and badge page · Official RHC page for its August 6-9, 2026 DEF CON 34 Las Vegas Convention Center presence, AI-Connected RHC badge, physical-badge CTF participation, high-level hardware surface, and now-released firmware. rhc-badge-ai-control repository public host-control repository · Public `robotichackingcommunity` repository for supplementary host-side AI control tooling: UART framing, local web/HTTP control, Python MCP server, and Claude skill. It is distinct from the released attendee-firmware archive. rhc-badge-firmware repository public MIT firmware repository · Public MIT-licensed firmware, prebuilt binary, source layout, CTF writeup, and Arduino/STM32duino build and flashing guidance. Repository commits dated August 18-20, 2026 establish a post-event public release, not firmware parity for every distributed badge.

Sources

GitHub / robotichackingcommunity: rhc-badge-firmware Retrieved 2026-09-05 · Public MIT-licensed firmware repository for the unified RHC DEF CON badge. Its August 18-20, 2026 commit history and public source tree establish a post-event release with a binary, build guidance, CTF writeup, and hardware/firmware detail; it does not prove distribution or unit parity. GitHub / robotichackingcommunity: rhc-badge-ai-control Retrieved 2026-09-05 · Public repository source for supplementary host-side AI Interactive, MCP, Claude-skill, UART, web/HTTP control, and B3/B4 mode instructions. It is separate from the released `rhc-badge-firmware` archive. Robotic Hacking Community: Robotic Hacking Community Retrieved 2026-09-05 · Primary official source for the August 6-9, 2026 DEF CON 34 presence, AI-Connected badge, physical-badge CTF requirement, and its current statement that firmware is released. It does not establish recipient allocation or individual handoff. Robotic Hacking Community: RHC CTF Retrieved 2026-09-05 · Primary official source marking the experience experimental and subject to change, describing on-site team registration and physical-badge pickup, firmware-reversing activity, and controlled API-only digital-twin access. Robotic Hacking Community: RHC Badge Retrieved 2026-09-05 · Primary official post-event documentation for firmware v2.0.0, MIT licensing, STM32U073CBT6, e-paper, LEDs, infrared, UART, controls, CTF behavior, source/build/flashing guidance, and the link to the firmware repository.