The Agency Wand is the most advanced project in this collection and represents another major step in my badge-making journey.
The Wand was originally created as a handheld device intended to help teach and demonstrate badge-making skills. Its first iteration was released at HackSpaceCon in 2025.
For DEF CON 34, the design has been substantially upgraded with new hardware, expanded firmware, motion sensing, user configuration, additional controls, and more efficient power management.
Core Hardware
The DEF CON 34 version includes:
- Atmel ATtiny1616 microcontroller
- 5 reverse-mounted addressable LEDs
- SC7A20H accelerometer
- Efficient 3.6V boost converter
- External MOSFET power gate
- 1 rear red LED for ambient-light detection
- 2 red handle LEDs for programming-mode feedback
- 2 physical control buttons
- Capacitive-touch star hardware
- CR2032 battery power
- Reverse-polarity protection
- Exposed UART connections for firmware updates
The five addressable LEDs shine through the front of the PCB, allowing the Wand to display animated lighting programs and user-selected colors.
Lighting Programs
The upgraded firmware includes approximately five or six LED programs, depending on the final firmware release.
Programs can display different animations and effects using the Wand’s reverse-mounted addressable LEDs.
Users can configure:
- A favorite color used by supported programs
- Whether programs play randomly or sequentially
- Whether the motion-based program is enabled
Motion-Based Effects
The Wand includes an SC7A20H accelerometer that can detect movement and wake the microcontroller from sleep.
This allows an optional animation mode to activate as the Wand is moved around, creating a more interactive experience than a traditional static badge.
The accelerometer also provides room for future firmware experiments and new motion-controlled effects.
Physical Controls
The DEF CON 34 version now includes two buttons:
- A button at the base of the handle for activating programs
- A rear setup button for entering configuration options
Two red LEDs inside the handle provide visual feedback while navigating programming and setup modes.
The star also includes capacitive-touch hardware. Touch functionality is being developed as an experimental feature and may depend on the final DEF CON firmware.
Power Management
The Wand is powered by one CR2032 battery.
An upgraded boost converter and external MOSFET power gate help reduce unnecessary power consumption by shutting down the addressable LEDs when they are not being used.
The DEF CON 34 model also includes reverse-polarity protection for added protection if the battery is accidentally inserted incorrectly.
Firmware Updates
Exposed UART connections allow the firmware to be updated through the Wand’s XMODEM bootloader.
Updating requires a user-supplied USB-to-TTL UART adapter and a terminal application that supports XMODEM transfers.
This gives more advanced users an opportunity to explore the firmware and install future updates without requiring a traditional programming header.0
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