Design for Snackey

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:

• On their Website
• On Github