THOTCON 0x8 · United States · 2017

THOTCON 0x8 Badge

ATmega32u4 tesserHack maze badge

The THOTCON 0x8 badge was a Chicago electronic conference badge built around an ATmega32u4, four RGB NeoPixel LEDs, three potentiometers, micro USB, two CR2032 coin-cell holders, and tesserHack stock firmware for an 8x8x8 maze game.

THOTCON United States Chicago ATmega32u4 NeoPixel Potentiometer Micro USB tesserHack Maze Game Arduino Leonardo North America

EventTHOTCON 0x8

SeriesTHOTCON

LocationChicago, Illinois

CountryUnited States

People

Authors & Credits

Hackaday article author

John Baichtal

Author of the Hackaday source used for THOTCON 0x8 hardware, firmware, and attribution details.

Source

badge design and programming group

Workshop 88

Hackaday identifies the designer and programmer as associated with Workshop 88, and the Hackaday.io project says the badge was designed by the Workshop 88 team.

Source

badge designer

Jedha

Hackaday credits Jedha with the THOTCON 0x8 badge design.

Source

badge programmer

John Wallis

Hackaday credits John Wallis of Workshop 88 with programming the THOTCON 0x8 badge.

Source

badge-hacking project author

Gigawatts / Kenjo

The Hackaday.io project preserves the post-event hardware mapping, serial-console notes, bootloader recovery steps, and Arduino demo path.

Source

event and schedule publisher

THOTCON

The official archive establishes the 2017 Chicago event context and badge pickup at check-in.

Source

Why It Mattered

It adds Chicago's THOTCON lineage to the North American compendium and captures a badge where modest hardware became a puzzle interface, serial-console game, Arduino-compatible hacking target, and post-event firmware-recovery project.

Hardware

Hackaday and the Hackaday.io project describe the badge as an ATmega32u4 board with four RGB NeoPixel LEDs, three potentiometers, a micro USB port, two CR2032 coin-cell holders, and an exposed ICSP path used for bootloader and firmware recovery.

Software & Apps

The stock tesserHack firmware modeled an 8x8x8 maze navigated through the three potentiometers. The LEDs indicated nearby paths, portals, keys, and failure states; USB serial access exposed a 9600-baud menu with map and help views.

Lore

THOTCON's official 0x8 schedule documents Chicago dates and attendee badge pickup at check-in. Hackaday attributes the badge design to Jedha and programming to John Wallis of Workshop 88, while Gigawatts' project documents post-event bootloader repair, Arduino Leonardo targeting, pin mapping, and RGB demo firmware.

Lifecycle

Add-ons & Upgrades

badge game historical

tesserHack 8x8x8 maze firmware

Stock firmware challenged attendees to navigate an 8x8x8 maze using the three potentiometers for Z, X, and Y movement.

Compatibility: THOTCON 0x8 Badge

Source

badge interface source-backed

LED compass maze feedback

The four RGB LEDs represented open pathways, portals, keys, and wall/death states around the player's current maze position.

Compatibility: THOTCON 0x8 Badge

Source

badge software interface source-backed

USB serial map and help menu

USB serial access at 9600 baud exposed tesserHack map and help views for playing the maze with clearer coordinate feedback.

Compatibility: THOTCON 0x8 Badge

Source

firmware workflow documented

Arduino Leonardo bootloader recovery

Gigawatts documented burning an Arduino Leonardo bootloader over ICSP with a Bus Pirate so the badge could accept Arduino IDE sketches over USB.

Compatibility: THOTCON 0x8 Badge

Source

hardware architecture source-backed

ATmega32u4 NeoPixel badge core

The badge used an ATmega32u4 with four RGB NeoPixels, three potentiometers, micro USB, and two CR2032 holders.

Compatibility: THOTCON 0x8 Badge

Source

Operational history

Issues & Camp Impact

firmware-source caveat note

Hackaday.io links stock firmware source and an Arduino RGB demo, but this pass records the public project evidence rather than auditing, mirroring, or validating every firmware artifact and challenge branch.

The catalogue records verified hardware, game behavior, and recovery workflow while leaving full firmware preservation and challenge reconstruction for a later pass.

Confidence: source-backed but incomplete
Status: needs deeper archive recovery
Timeframe: current THOTCON 0x8 pass
Source note: Hackaday.io THOTCON 0x8 project links and project logs.

missing rights-cleared image note

No THOTCON 0x8 badge image is published because Hackaday and Hackaday.io photos have not been paired with complete original-photo provenance, explicit reuse rights, attribution, and processing notes.

The entry remains source-backed and image-free rather than copying article or project-gallery photography without a clear catalogue reuse basis.

Confidence: local project policy
Status: needs licensed original replacement
Timeframe: current catalogue build
Source note: badge.gallery image policy, Hackaday article media, and Hackaday.io project gallery media.

Resources

Hacking The Thotcon 0x8 Badge article · Hackaday source for Jedha, John Wallis, Workshop 88, ATmega32u4, NeoPixels, potentiometers, micro USB, tesserHack firmware, USB serial play, Bus Pirate recovery, and Hackaday.io project handoff. THOTCON 0x8 InfoconDB record event metadata · InfoconDB source for THOTCON 0x8 dates, Chicago location context, and links to the event page and program. THOTCON 0x8 schedule official event schedule · Official THOTCON archive source for May 4-5, 2017 Chicago dates, undisclosed-location framing, and badge pickup at attendee check-in. Thotcon 0x8 Badge project project page · Hackaday.io source for badge hardware, two CR2032 holders, 8x8x8 maze mechanics, LED meanings, serial-console setup, ICSP bootloader recovery, Arduino Leonardo targeting, and pin mapping.

Sources

Hackaday: Hacking The Thotcon 0x8 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Technical and attribution source for the badge designer, firmware programmer, hardware list, tesserHack firmware, USB serial behavior, and bootloader-recovery context. Hackaday.io / Gigawatts: Thotcon 0x8 Badge Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Technical project source for hardware details, maze controls, LED states, serial menu setup, ICSP bootloader recovery, Arduino Leonardo workflow, and pin mapping. InfoconDB: THOTCON 0x8 (2017) Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Event metadata source for THOTCON 0x8 dates and Chicago location context. THOTCON: THOTCON 0x8 schedule Retrieved 2026-05-15 · Official event source for the May 4-5, 2017 Chicago edition and badge pickup at check-in.