Digital convention badges are all the time a delight and we love seeing the inventive ideas that individuals come up. However most of these badges are novelties (which is a part of the purpose) they usually don’t are usually helpful for a lot after that preliminary exploration is over. Igor Brkić was tasked with designing the badge for the DORS/CLUC 2025 convention in Croatia and needed to make one thing that will nonetheless be helpful after the occasion was completed. He got here up with this charming badge for enjoyable shenanigans on the convention and likewise utility after the convention.
The {hardware} on the badge, which is the normal enclosure-free PCB on a lanyard, features a row of nine-segment shows, a mini LED matrix, two buttons, a USB port, an NFC reader, a battery, and an STM32L053 microcontroller to supervise all of it. A laser-cut acrylic panel covers the LEDs, offering each safety and diffusion.
That {hardware} made it potential to create video games for attendees to expertise on the convention. The primary sport was a sort of scavenger hunt for NFC tags that have been hidden across the venue. If a badge-holder discovered a hidden tag, they might scan it and enhance the rating displayed on the badge. The second sport helped foster the social side of the convention by giving badge-holders an incentive to work together with one another. By getting scanning one other attendee’s badge, they might enhance that all-important rating.
And, after all, as a result of this was a convention championing every thing open supply, one particular person even managed to hack the badge — one thing Brkić was happy to see. That particular person was capable of finding the obfuscated tag IDs within the badge firmware after which emulated these utilizing a Flipper Zero, so they might enhance their rating while not having to go away their seat.
Better of all, the badges are nonetheless helpful, though the convention’s remaining day was Might twenty third. By connecting a USB cable from the badge to a pc, the consumer can use the badge for each enter and output. The buttons can launch actions on the PC and the badge can show knowledge despatched by the PC. One may, for instance, use the badge as a time-tracking machine to extend their productiveness.
As you’ll count on, the badge itself is open supply and you’ll construct your individual should you’d like. The design information and firmware are obtainable on GitLab for anybody to entry.
