Hackaday Superconference
The second Hackaday Superconference edition whose Voja Antonic-designed Supercon II badge evolved the Belgrade LED-matrix badge into a Pasadena electronic badge with accelerometer, infrared, USB mass-storage bootloader, expansion pads, firmware framework, and badge-hacking contests.
Supplyframe DesignLab and Los Angeles College of Music, Pasadena, California · United States · 2016
The 2016 Hackaday Superconference badge, also documented as the Supercon II badge, was a Voja Antonic-designed open hardware badge with a red 8x16 LED matrix, PIC18LF25K50/PIC18F25K50-class MCU, integral LIS3 accelerometer, infrared communication, USB bootloader, five tactile controls, and expansion pads.
Lifecycle
The firmware used the integral accelerometer for gravity-style simulations and input mechanics that sat behind the public puzzle and demo behavior.
The red 128-LED matrix was the main visual surface for animations, gravity simulation, messages, Tetris, challenge feedback, and blinky badge hacks.
The IR transmitter and TSOP receiver used a UART-oriented protocol with per-badge serial addressing, enabling challenges and user programs to exchange data optically.
Supercon ran badge-hacking awards for blinky, deadbug, over-the-top, and crypto-solving work, with public presentations and prize recognition after the event.
Microchip adapted a bootloader so the badge appeared as a HackABadge USB disk where attendees could drag compiled HEX files for flashing.
Operational history
The compendium keeps the US Pasadena record separate while preserving the Serbian Belgrade design lineage and shared firmware roots.
The record stays source-backed and image-free rather than copying public photos or using generated placeholder imagery.
Source-code claims can cite the repository, while the badge image remains empty until a separately cleared original photo or official render is selected.