Conference badges can be boring, some can be cool and make nice souvenirs, then there are those that might actually be a reason to go to a conference or event in itself. The TiLDA MKe badge from the upcoming EMF 2014 event looks like it will be one of the latter. This “hacker campout” will take place just south of Bletchley in the UK. It looks like a really fun event, with an expected 1200 participants, and a badge that, as they modestly suggest, is probably the most advanced model you’ve seen.

The TiLDA MKe badge, besides, I suppose, displaying your name, also will display the schedule of events on its built-in display. It can be registered online to remind you about the different talks or workshops that you might be interested in. Cleverly, some of these workshops will actually be about ways that you can use and modify this Arduino-based badge. Besides Arduino compatibility, it has an ARM processor built in so “more advanced users can play with all the fun bits we tucked into the design.”

On the announcement, there is also a “torch mode” listed, which I assume is Anglo-speak for flashlight. On the other hand, if it literally has a torch build into it, I think this is worth the price of admission whether you wanted to attend the event or not!

Thanks Jonty for letting me know about this awesome device and event!