KiCon Europe 2024

The KiCon Electronic Badge
09-20, 15:15–15:55 (Europe/Berlin), Main Hall

The KiCon electronic badge is an Open Source device integrating a number of technologies and derived from reference circuits and several teams' work since 2022. The electronic circuits of this device were designed exclusively using KiCad, and during this hour we study the technology in depth.


We designed and produced the KiCon electronic badge to distribute at KiCon 2024 in Bochum and elsewhere. Curious minds ask what technologies, materials, processes, and personalities contributed to the final result. While KiCad was the electronics design automation suite exclusively used for circuits, a number of other production work carried our achievements over the top and we hope to explain the evolution of the KiCon electronic badge up to the present day.

Michael Schloh von Bennewitz (MSvB) is a computer scientist specializing in embedded systems. As chairman of Novel Circuits, he produces cryptosecure electronic devices while contributing to Opensource development communities. Michael teaches hardware security and fosters electronics enthusiasts at the Badge Clinic. Together with a team of hardware hackers, he produced the the KiCon electronic badge to help celebrate the technology state of KiCad.