We love seeing folks bring custom badge add-ons to Supercon, but in the past, it’s been enough of a challenge that only a handful of attendees ever make the attempt. Not only do you have a limited time to get your hardware designed and built, but the first time you get to see if your device will plug in (let alone work) is when you check in on Friday morning.

So this year, we’re doing things a little differently. While we’re still not ready to show off the badge itself, we’ve decided to fully embrace the Simple-Add On standard for all badge expansions. With a documented connector type and pinout, there’s no more guessing about whether or not your add-on is going to work when you get to Pasadena.

But there’s a catch! Traditionally SAOs have been all about the look, PCB art and blinking LEDs. This year, we want to change that. We’re challenging makers and hackers to build functional SAOs, or as we’ve come to call them, Supercon Add-Ons.

The winning SAOs will be announced during a special ceremony at Supercon, before being put into production so they can be distributed to all the attendees at Hackaday Europe in 2025!

Winners:

In addition to a single Best Overall winner, we'll be picking a top entry for each of the following categories:

• Functional: This challenge is about pushing the envelope for SAOs, so for this category we'll be looking for the most capable add-on.
• Fine Art: We've seen some absolutely gorgeous SAOs over the years, so even though we're largely pushing for function over form this year, we still want to acknowledge the incredible artistry that goes into them.
• Fun: It's not all about business. SAOs are often a bit tongue in cheek, with many referencing online memes or parts of hacker culture. If you want to win in this category, you'll need to lighten up a bit.

Honorable Mentions:

• Coolest Toys: We're suckers for interesting parts, so the SAO selected for this category will be the one with the most unique or impressive electronic components onboard.
• Light Show: We want to challenge the idea that SAOs are just for blinking LEDs, so naturally, at least one of you is going to go against the grain and add as many LEDs as possible.
• Most Ambitious: Sometimes, it's the thought that counts. Whether or not the final product worked as expected, the SAO selected for this category will be the one that took the biggest swing.
• Best Communication: Getting SAOs to talk to the badge and each other is what this contest is really all about, so we're looking for the one example that really ran with the concept.
• Least Manufacturable: SAOs often employ design or assembly hacks (like mounting LEDs upside-down) that don't scale well. In this category we're looking for hand-crafted masterpieces.

Rules:

• You can submit as many entries as you’d like.
• We want to learn from you. Document your project as well as you can so that we can follow along.
• All entrants must agree to have the design published on Hackaday.
• Employees and contractors of DigiKey, SupplyFrame, Siemens, and their immediate family members are ineligible to win, but are still encouraged to enter.
• Rules and categories are subject to change and judges' decisions are final.

The four winning entries will be announced on November 2nd, 2024, during Hackaday Superconference. Each selected SAO will be mass produced and distributed to all attendees at Hackaday Europe 2025. The creators of the winning entries will also receive five professionally produced copies of their design, one each of the other winning designs, and a Supercon 2024 badge.

Qualifying Requirements:

As the winning SAOs will be produced in the hundreds, we must take the manufacturability of entries into account. To be considered for production, entries must therefore adhere to the following guidelines:

• Design must be functional, and have at least one working prototype
• Any imagery must be safe for work (SFW) and not copyrighted.
• Within reason, design should avoid need for hand-soldering.
• All files and...