Introduction
Raspberry Pi launched its new RP2350 microcontroller at DEF CON in 2024, powering 30,000 conference badges. This gave attendees hands-on access to its dual-CPU design featuring Arm and RISC-V cores. Raspberry Pi highlighted gaming capabilities and issued a hack challenge with a $20,000 bounty. This expanded commentary examines the technical details and impact of the innovative DEF CON badge powered by the RP2350 chip.
The RP2350 Microcontroller
The RP2350 is a dual-core microcontroller featuring both Arm and 32-bit RISC-V processors. This unique dual-CPU, dual-architecture design lets developers choose which architecture runs their code, giving affordable access to RISC-V experimentation alongside the established Arm standard. The Arm core is a Cortex-M4 while the RISC-V cores were custom-designed by Luke Wren of Raspberry Pi in his spare time. Named Hazard3, these lightweight RISC-V cores aim to be efficient for embedded use. Wren documented the design process and open-sourced the cores, advancing the open development of the fledgling RISC-V ISA. The RP2350 packs these two CPU architectures onto a single chip for the first time, at an attainable price. This made mass experimentation possible through tens of thousands of DEF CON badges.
Gaming Potential with Doom
Anticipating gaming would drive exploration of the badges’ capabilities, Raspberry Pi software engineer Graham Sanderson ported his existing Doom port to run natively on RP2350 silicon. Optimized for low-resource platforms like RP2040, it achieved smooth high frame rates on the DEF CON badges. Attendees could now easily program and play the iconic 1990s shooter on their badges. Sanderson continued improving the port, including multiplayer through SAO connectivity between badges – a humorous standard for ad-hoc accessory connections. His work proved the badge’s gaming chops and collective tinkering advances like multiplayer added lasting value and community.
Hardware Exploitation Research
Through a partnership with startup security company Hextree.io, Raspberry Pi aimed to encourage hardware security research. Co-founder Thomas Roth – renowned for stack-smashing research – called the RP2350 “the first microcontroller that reacts to advanced hardware attacks.” The “ready-to-glitch” badges provided a sandbox for experimentation at the largest hacker security conference. With their integrated active attack countermeasures and a $20,000 bug bounty prize, Raspberry Pi challenged attendees to find flaws. Roth praised Raspberry Pi’s security transparency – eager to identify and patch issues – an example of open collaboration. The initiative lets researchers stress test approaches like a secure boot in the real world, from fault injection to software exploits on real silicon. It fostered debate around the nascent domain of embedded device security.
Production and Players
Seamless badge production required coordination across partners. TEAM CATBALL – led by experienced conference prop designer Mar Williams – handled concept and development while Entropic provided hardware engineering and firmware work. UK manufacturer ICSN mass-produced high-quality DEF CON badges on schedule. Meanwhile, Embedded Systems Village – a cornerstone of DEF CON talks -partnered to showcase the badges and demonstrations. Additional support came from sound designer Legion303 for sound effects and musician Joe Grand for testing. Dmitry Grinberg of Entropic programmed a Game Boy Advance emulator, and artist Ada R-W contributed “cool dragon” characters. This diverse cross-functional collaboration delivered a unique, coherent experience across tens of thousands of prototypes. It exemplified DEF CON’s culture of creative technical experimentation across disciplines for both wide accessibility and research rigor.
Impact and Conclusion
Over a year after the 2024 DEF CON launch, the RP2350 and its badges have had a tangible ongoing impact. With tens of thousands in circulation, it sparked hands-on RISC-V education worldwide through reverse engineering and usage at the largest hacker conference. It remains the quickest path to experimenting with this open ISA and observing active hardware exploitation defenses in a real product. Meanwhile, the RP2350 hack challenge prize – doubled to $20,000 – still stands unclaimed, demonstrating the robust security possible through open cooperation on research. Raspberry Pi set an example by welcoming scrutiny and learning from both its own community and security startups. Overall, Raspberry Pi advanced open innovation through a collaborative, transparent approach. Its dedication to both accessibility and pushing technical boundaries earned trust, fostering ongoing experimentation far beyond a single event. The badge established the RP2350 and Raspberry Pi as leaders in enabling education, creativity, and responsible security research by mass distributing freely programmable platforms. Its legacy continues to impact both industry and independent exploration at the intersection of hardware, software, and their real-world applications. While certain technical challenges surely remain, the RP2350-powered DEF CON badge proved the potential of open collaboration at scale.
In conclusion, Raspberry Pi leveraged an innovative DEF CON badge to launch its new dual-core RP2350 microcontroller and foster global learning, hacking, and hardware security progress. Creative partnerships delivered a memorable conference experience while empowering both widespread experimentation and continued research pushing technological boundaries through open cooperation. The project established Raspberry Pi as an exemplar in collaboratively enabling community and merit-based technical progress for years to come.
FAQ
Q: What is the RP2350 microcontroller?
A: The RP2350 is a dual-core microcontroller from Raspberry Pi featuring both Arm and 32-bit RISC-V processors. It allows experimenting with both architectures on a single inexpensive chip.
Q: Why was it used for the DEF CON badges?
A: Raspberry Pi wanted to launch its new RP2350 by exposing it to hacking scrutiny at DEF CON. The badges also introduced thousands to RISC-V experimentation in a unique, hands-on way.
Q: How were the badges programmed?
A: Attendees could program their badges via a USB connection. The Doom port was pre-loaded but could also be re-flashed. Code was loaded directly to the RP2350’s on-chip flash memory via simple drag-and-drop tools.
Q: What games or applications ran on it?
A: Most notably a port of the classic FPS Doom achieved smooth high framerates. The GBA emulator also lets various retro games be played. Future ports could utilize the dual CPUs and on-badge storage.
Q: How did the hardware security challenge work?
A: By finding exploits to access a secret stored on the chip, one could claim a $20k bounty. This incentivized rigorous hardware security research under guidelines set by organizers.
Q: What companies/groups helped create it?
A: Key partners included Raspberry Pi, Entropic, TEAM CATBALL for design, ICSN for manufacturing, Hextree.io for the security element, and many individual contributors.
Q: Is the code or design available to learn from?
A: The full schematics are not open but the RISC-V cores were open-sourced by their designer. Many badge components like the Doom port are available as a learning resource too.
Q: How can I get involved with future badges?
A: Keep an eye on the DEF CON badge program for how to apply technical skills to future editions! Individuals also frequently collaborate on their badge projects.