This is the repo accompanying the Research Innovations Incorporated (RII) badge, debuting at RE//verse 2025. Because RII is providing the badges fully assembled, assembly instructions are located at the bottom of the README for anyone interested (or anyone building from a provided kit in the future).
This README prioritizes features of the badge and how to modify it. By picking up a badge from the RII booth, you agree to make a good-faith effort to participate in one (or both) of the available activities.
During RE//verse, we will host a March Madness style bracket competition for the best light show you can flash onto the badge. We will randomly pick brackets. The qualification of "best light show" is purely subjective---decided by the RII booth.
Additionally, as the text on the badge indicates, you can unlock a new light pattern on your badge by reverse engineering the code on the PIC16. Contact the RII booth to get an Intel HEX representation of your badge's code.
NOTE: The LEDs are very bright! Please be respectful and avoid pointing lights directly into others' eyes. Ensure your badges are not a distraction to RE//verse speakers, especially if you are in the front section of seating.
In addition to our cutting-edge program work, RII has a culture of growth and mentoring. Our Core Values include specific statements to help engineers pursue their passions (e.g., "Let your geek flag fly" and "while (true) { learn(); think(); share(); innovate(); }"). As part of the creation process for these badges, we included members of our team that might not have had experience in hardware design, soldering, or microcontroller programming. This exposure provides hands-on experience to further increase skill sets as well as prepare them for program work where those skills might be necessary.
We are excited about the inaugural RE//verse Conference, which is full of great presenters on a single track. We anticipate most attendees will be present at every talk. However, we wanted to provide a manageable side quest for attendees to work on if they want a break from the main action. Although there are many other more complex and technically impressive badges, this badge is simple enough to be digestible within the timeframe of the conference. Additionally, PIC16 is an architecture most people might not have worked with. We intend this to be a fun, collaborative, low-stakes activity and look forward to seeing what you can create!
You are welcome to hang out with us at our sponsor booth during the conference. If you are interested in career opportunities at RII, check out our careers page.
The high-level workflow to modify your badge follows:
- Install the IDE for PIC development and flashing.
- Set up some configuration options.
- Write/build your C or assembly code.
- Come to the RII booth to flash your badge with our PICKit3.
Install the MPLAB X IDE using an installer from Microchip at https://www.microchip.com/en-us/tools-resources/develop/mplab-x-ide. You only need support for the 8-bit microcontrollers (XC8) and should only need the IDE and not the IPE.
- Choose the "Microchip Embedded" Category and "Application Project(s)" Project
- Select "Baseline 8-bit MCUs" as the family and the "PIC16F54" as the Device
- For development, you can ignore the "Tool" option.
- If you are writing C code, you want the XC8 compiler. If you are writing assembly, you want the pic-as assembler.
- Name project as you desire, click finish
- Right click "Source Files"->"New"->"main.c"
- Replace the contents of main.c with the main.c in this repo
- In your source code, you'll need to set the configuration bits. You want WDT Disabled, Code Protection disabled, and the oscillator set to RC. This is already done using "#pragma" statements in the provided code.
You can write whatever code you'd like to make custom light shows! This repo includes the C code used for the default badge configuration, which provides an example to modify or build upon. The PIC16F54 is simple; however, you are programming the pins using I/O ports, and it can be a little different than you might expect.
If you get a message like "Can't find 0xXXX words for psect 'dataBANK0'", your code is too big to fit in flash memory. The PIC16F54 only fits 512 12-bit words in program memory, and a mere 25 8-bit words in data memory. Refactor your code to reduce size, and you can write more compact code using assembly instead of C.
Select the "PICkit 3" as your "connected hardware tool" (you'll need to select "Show All" if the PICkit is not attached to your computer) In the PICkit 3 menu, select the "Power" option category. Enable "power target circuit from PICkit3" and set voltage level to 3.5V.
Connect a PICkit 3 to the 5-pin ICSP header and click "make and program device main project". We leave the details of this as an exercise to the reader.
At RE//verse, you may email your .hex file to an RII booth member, and we will flash your badge for you.
- Remember to switch the badge off before attempting to flash. Battery power will conflict with PICkit 3 power and cause programming to fail (hardware should be ok).
- Make sure you have configured the PICkit 3 to provide 3.5-4.5 volts in the IDE settings. Lower voltage tends to cause programming instability.
- If the badge is flaky, specifically turning on/off inconsistently, you probably need a better solder connection for the slide switch (especially the top 4 pins).
Although the source code provided in this repo matches the flashing pattern on your badge and is a great place for you to start your own modifications, it does not exactly match what is on your badge as you received it. If you reverse engineer the badge code, you will find a way to unlock a new light pattern. Details here are intentionally sparse, but please talk to us at our booth if you have questions or need ideas.
Tips for assembling the badge follow.
- 1x PIC16F54 microcontroller
- 1x 10k ohm resistor
- 1x 200 picofarad capacitor
- 2x 3.7k ohm resistors
- 1x CR2032 battery
- 1x Battery mount
- 1x 5-pin header
- 1x Switch
- 10x LEDs
It's easiest to assemble a PCB on a flat surface. Save the LEDs as the last component to add. Start with the resistors and capacitor, so the smallest components are set. Do the PIC16F54 next, so you have room all around it to solder the individual legs without bumping into other raised components. Check for any bridged pins and check that relevant pins are all connected to the respective LED pads. Attach the slide switch and then the battery holder. Insert all LEDs, bend the legs to hold their place but do not solder. Insert battery and push slide switch up to check that all LEDs light. Solder LEDs, trim legs, and enjoy!
- It is much easier to use solder paste instead of solder wire for the resistors, capacitor, and PIC16. Just a tiny bit of solder paste on the outer half of each pad is enough. Too much, or paste on the inside edge of the pads, tends to cause bridged pins.
- If the PIC16 gets programmed successfully but doesn't actually do anything when powered on, the problem is almost always the RC oscillator circuitry. Check the capacitor, 10k Ohm resistor, and the PIC16 oscillator input pin.
RJ (crandyman): Concept, circuitry, component selection, badge assembly, software
Frankl: Badge design, graphics, concept support
Joey Villa: Badge assembly
Zack Chapman: Badge assembly
curiouspiano: Badge assembly