EP#391: DFS: Design for Snackey

This special episode is recorded at DEF CON, the annual hacker community gathering in Las Vegas.  Hyr0n and Zapp from AND!XOR dive into the troubleshooting and triumphs of the Snackey vending machine project. From battling long queues to AI-enhanced innovation and mind-boggling challenges, explore the technical and creative journey behind this badge that will ignite your taste buds! 

Guests:

• Hyr0n & Zapp from AND!XOR 

Troubleshooting Snackey at DEF CON 

• Snackey was a hit!  The vending machine attracted 2-hour long queues 
• Troubleshooting a myriad of issues from a bag of potato chips getting stuck to power and display malfunctions
• A primary glitch: Snackey refused to boot up, only to discover an extension cord mistaken for the real power source

AI-Enhanced Snackey and Delving into Design 

• Behind the scenes, the badge's back-end infrastructure hinged on CircuitPython, while AI, including Bard and ChatGPT, played a pivotal role in certain aspects
• An example of AI integration: modifying the progress bar script
• AI, however, was exclusively utilized for software, not hardware components
• AI came into play when a deep fake video featuring Billy Mays was created for the AND!XOR DC31 Trailer
• Zapp walks us through the intricate design layers of the badge which included woodworking & laser engraving

Badge Challenges 2023 

• The Gopher challenge presented a blend of traditional cybersecurity tasks and connection points, offering a puzzle for attendees to decipher 
• A coin cell on the back of the badge transformed it into Snackey Jr. and provided some clever misdirection for those who thought it was a battery cell slot 
• The Pizza Emoji Challenge, with its Morse code and homage to the TV remote inventor, showcased the multifaceted nature of Snackey's puzzles 

Summary/Takeaways: 

• A key challenge for next year will be elevating the speed of Snackey’s operations to reduce wait times 
• The collaborative essence of DEF CON highlights the ever-evolving landscape of hacking and creative engineering 

Connect with AND!XOR:

• Website: https://www.andnxor.com/ 
• Github: https://github.com/ANDnXOR 
• Hackady.io:  https://hackaday.io/ANDnXOR 
• X: https://twitter.com/ANDnXOR 

Thank you for listening to the MacroFab Engineering Podcast!  We’d love to hear what you think of the show so please tweet at us @MacroFab and join our slack channel at Macrofab dot com / slack or email us at podcast@macrofab.com.