MCU platform
ESP32-class badges dominate the modern hacker-conference badge scene: dual-core Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, ample GPIO, and a mature firmware ecosystem make it the default platform for interactive, connected badges.
linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf ESP32 badge board
linux.conf.au 2017's Open Hardware Miniconf centered on IoTuz, an ESP32-based custom board documented by the official schedule, CCHS Melbourne hardware and firmware repositories, workshop setup notes, and attendee driver work.
Dutch camp Badge.Team milestone
A Badge.Team-supported Dutch camp badge with ESP32, e-paper, WiFi, Hatchery apps, WebUSB install paths, production lore, and a lasting role in European badge culture.
Unofficial DEF CON 26 ESP32-WROVER Wild West of IoT badge
The AND!XOR DC26 Badge was an unofficial DEF CON 26 badgelife board themed as the Wild West of IoT, built around an ESP32-WROVER module with WiFi/Bluetooth, a color LCD, microSD, IS31FL3736-driven RGB lighting, CP2102N USB serial, LULZCODE scripting, the B.E.N.D.E.R. console challenge, and badge-to-badge networking ambitions.
ESP32 fox badge with jewels and robot paths
A fox-shaped ESP32 badge with 5x7 LED eye matrices, touch pads, buzzer, 18650 power, Lego Technic mounting holes, and jewel add-ons.
Bottle-shaped ESP32 BLE and OLED badge
A small-batch H2HC 2018 bottle-shaped PCB badge with an ESP32 WROOM, I2C OLED display, six controllable LEDs, BLE behavior, AAA or USB power, and Arduino IDE source-code notes.
Nokia-3310-inspired ESP32 badge
An Italian Hacker Camp badge built around recycled Nokia 3310 shells, ESP32 WiFi hardware, an LCD, keypad, accelerometer, compass, buzzer, NeoPixels, and MicroPython.
ESP32 soccer-robot kit for the linux.conf.au Open Hardware Miniconf
linux.conf.au 2018's Open Hardware Miniconf used LoliBot, an ESP32 two-wheel robot kit with MicroPython workshop material, public example software, USB serial setup, WiFi/MQTT configuration, sensors, motors, neopixels, and a front kicker servo.
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.
ESP32 MicroPython badge with 8x32 LED matrix and twelve minibadge spots
The SAINTCON 2018 ESP32 Badge was an electronic conference badge built around a LOLIN D32 / ESP32 module running MicroPython, an 8x32 LED matrix, three buttons, a rechargeable battery, Wi-Fi configuration behavior, Hacker Challenge score display, and twelve minibadge spots.
ESP32 colour-screen game badge
BSides Cape Town 2019's badge was an ESP32 electronic badge with a 1.3-inch 240x240 IPS colour display, touch buttons, 18650 battery, custom PCB, 3D-printed case, Arduino/ESP32 firmware, local SDL debugging support, WiFi high-score sync, Bluetooth GamePad experiments, and a public GPL-3.0 firmware repository.
ESP32 MicroPython and puzzle badge
A Finnish Disobey badge with ESP32 MicroPython, Hatchery apps, puzzle pointers, screen, buzzer, IR, buttons, and RGB LEDs around the PCB outline.
Ukrainian ESP32 badge and CTF platform
A Ukrainian NoNameCon 2019 electronic badge built by TechMaker around an ESP32 platform with Wi-Fi/Bluetooth, OLED display, LEDs, capacitive input, OTA firmware, SpyNet backend interaction, and a six-flag badge CTF.
ESP32 39x9 LED-matrix badge for Pixels Camp
A Portugal source-backed ESP32 PCB badge for Pixels Camp 2019 with a 39x9 RGB LED matrix, IS31FL3741 LED driver, CH340G USB serial, USB/LiPo power, and public schematic/PCB design files.
DePaul IRL ESP32 badge with capacitive pads, LEDs, speaker, and microphone
The THOTCON 0xA / Infinity badge was a Chicago electronic conference badge produced with DePaul's Idea Realization Lab for the May 3-4, 2019 event. DePaul Newsline reported a six-month, 1,700-unit custom circuit-board badge build; the public Poplicola repository documents a SparkFun ESP32 Thing Dev base, five capacitive touch pads, six LEDs, speaker output, microphone input, stock-firmware restore commands, and Arduino examples.
Ukrainian ESP32 air-quality badge and CTF platform
A Ukrainian NoNameCon 2020 electronic badge by TechMaker, redesigned as a custom ESP32-WROOM-32D board with optional BME680 air-quality sensing, dual OLED displays, joysticks, touchpads, WS2812 LEDs, USB-C programming, and embedded-systems CTF tasks.
Online linux.conf.au ESP32-era SwagBadge and DagBadge hardware programme
linux.conf.au 2021's Open Hardware Miniconf is represented by a source-backed SwagBadge and DagBadge programme: badges were built and mailed to delegates, then covered by official software, hardware, SAO, test-jig, firmware, and show-and-tell sessions.
ESP32 North Sectoria RPG badge
NorthSec's official 2021 badge page and repository document an ESP32 electronic badge with Wi-Fi, BLE, 240x240 color LCD, NeoPixel RGB LEDs, six buttons, buzzer, UART serial port, micro-USB or external battery power, ESP-IDF firmware, and ten badge flags tied to the North Sectoria game theme.
ESP32 retro-controller badge with LEDs, buzzer, accelerometer, and Wi-Fi
The THOTCON 0xB badge was a rescheduled-2021 Chicago electronic conference badge in a retro controller / circus-ticket form factor. Rob Rehrig's first-hand writeup documents an ESP32 main controller, reverse-mount RGB and single-color LEDs driven by an IS32FL3731 LED driver, capacitive touch buttons, piezo buzzer, accelerometer, 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi node behavior, IRC remote connectivity, and serial interface.
ESP32, RP2040, FPGA game-console badge
A game-console-shaped badge with ESP32, RP2040 board management, iCE40 FPGA graphics, Bosch sensors, BadgePython, Hatchery apps, SAO/Qwiic/PMOD expansion, and WebUSB FPGA workflows.
ESP32 return-to-hallway badge with SAO hardware archive
NorthSec 2022 now has a source-backed badge record from NorthSec's official past-editions page and the public nsec-badge archive: an ESP32 WROOM32 electronic badge with CH340C USB serial, MCP73831 LiPo charging, AP2112 3.3 V regulation, twenty-four WS2811/5050 RGB LEDs, 0805 status LEDs, production Gerbers, BOM files, challenge image assets, and multiple SAO hardware directories.
RP2040 MicroPython badge with NFC and sensors
An Italian MuHack badge built around an RP2040, MicroPython, addressable LEDs, NFC, sensors, optional ESP32 connectivity, and a public MuHackademy workshop/talk trail.
Hayes SmartModem-inspired Wi-Fi modem badge
The JawnCon 0x1 modem badge was a wearable miniature Hayes SmartModem homage for the October 2024 Philadelphia-area hacker con. JawnCon's official write-up says it used RetroWiFiModem to simulate the AT command set and drive the LEDs, with a PCB carrying an ESP radio, level shifter, and vintage red LED front; Hackaday covered it as an ESP8266-powered Wi-Fi modem badge for early-Internet services.
Electronic Cats OLED and RF-detector badge
The 44CON 2025 badge is a public Electronic Cats hardware and firmware project that can run with a CH32-style shield for an OLED mini-game or with an ESP32 Wemos D1 module plus optional buzzer, MT3608 boost converter, AD8317 RF detector, and add-on board.
Badge Pirates ESP32 touchscreen conference badge
The BSidesKC 2025 badge was a Badge Pirates fully electronic conference badge documented through public production and fulfillment updates: 250 fully assembled ESP32 badges from PCBWay with 3.2 inch touch screens, Wi-Fi, SD card slots, customs delays, tariff impact, and post-event pickup or shipping handling.
ESP32 touch-wheel badge with TFT, audio, LEDs, and games
The THOTCON 0xD badge was a Fourfold-built electronic conference badge for the May 30-31, 2025 Chicago event, documented as a 2,000-unit ESP32 touch-wheel badge with ST7789 TFT display, buzzer, six LEDs, LiPo power, add-on header, games, visual effects, and challenge hooks.
Interactive ESP32 conference badge with screen, controls, badge-to-badge comms, and SAO support
BSides Ballarat 2026's public event page documents an Underground interactive conference badge designed and produced by Firnsy at Ballarat Hackerspace, with ESP32 processing, a screen, controls, badge-to-badge communication, SAO support, and a limited BSides SAO add-on; a public maker writeup also documents a third-party WS2812B Simple Add-On for the badge.
ESP32 portable CTF badge
BSides San Diego 2026 handed attendees a Cyberpunk Bunny electronic badge: an ESP32-powered portable CTF with cryptography challenges, wireless hacking, hidden secrets, an accelerometer-driven oracle, BLE co-op behavior, and an ultimate hidden flag path.
CSIT C517 finalist BLE mesh challenge hardware
A source-backed TISC@DEF CON SG finals challenge artifact: CSIT's official C517 page documents the on-site TISC finals, and a finalist writeup says each of the top-50 finalists received an ESP32 hardware trinket running a customized BLE mesh chat protocol to reverse engineer.
ESP32 weather and crank-powered quest badge
Kernelcon's 2026 Off Grid badge is an ESP32 weather-prediction and quest badge with BME280 temperature, humidity, and pressure sensing, twenty addressable RGB LEDs, AAA and hand-crank power modes, BLE/proximity scanning, and MicroPython firmware.
Spanish ESP32 Pacman badge reconstructed from community reversals
A Spanish RootedCON 2026 official Pacman Badge reconstructed from multiple community reversing repositories as an ESP32-D0WD-V3 board with a 1.77-inch ST7735 128x160 display, a directional pad, buttons, and a native quiz-server CTF protocol, distributed at the March 5-7, 2026 sixteenth edition at Kinepolis Madrid.
Repair, preservation, and lab context
Parts, tools, and supplies that match the documented hardware across these ESP32 badges. Category-level recommendations, not compatibility guarantees.
Display modules and related parts for repair and preservation planning.
This badge has a documented display signal. Matched technical signals: ST7735 TFT.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Headers, sockets, and connector supplies for display repair or replacement work.
Display headers and connectors are useful for repair and preservation planning. Matched technical signals: ST7735 TFT.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Debug probes for ARM/RISC-V badge development, recovery, and documentation.
Debug probes can support authorized recovery, firmware work, and documentation for microcontroller badges. Matched technical signals: ESP32.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
USB serial adapters for logs, recovery, and firmware documentation workflows.
This badge has a documented microcontroller platform where serial logs or flashing workflows may be relevant. Matched technical signals: ESP32.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance
Anti-static bags and storage supplies for preserving loose badge PCBs and sensitive components.
This is documented as an electronic or hardware artifact where anti-static storage can support preservation. Matched technical signals: Electronic badge.
Vendor link · selected for technical relevance