The Ideas of Defcon Is a Hackable, Roman-Themed Badge

It seems that some DEFCON goers are no longer satisfied with using the badges provided. And why not? It’s a conference about hacking, so putting out alternative designs seems quite appropriate. In this case, John Adams’ badge is called the “Ides of Defcon,” and those with a slightly better-than-passing knowledge of history can guess that it’s Roman-themed to go along with the event’s Caesar’s Palace location.

The badge now exists as a fully (actually over 300%) funded Kickstarter project, and is available for a pledge of $250. The hackable device consists of an ARM Cortex-M0 processor, a TFT touchscreen display, a rechargeable 1200mAh LiPo battery, as well as a 12-bit DAC and audio amplifier with a 17mm speaker speaker, among other electronic bits.

It’s loaded with the ChiBIOS real-time operating system, and has a 4GB Micro SD card for graphics, sounds, video and whatever else. A dozen WS2812B LEDs on top and at the bottom also give the board a nice touch.

Importantly, you can pwn other DEFCON attendees in the Ides of Defcon’s multi-player Roman soldier fighting game using its five tactile buttons as a joypad, and locate nearby opponents via its built-in 915MHz radio. You can find more info on the badge’s development here!