If you miss the Defcon electronic badge hacking it’s a good idea to check out the offerings of some of the lesser known cons. The recently concluded Notacon 9 in Cleveland, OH presented a badge based on the PIC 8-bit processor (PIC18F14K50-IP) with USB support. Two versions were released: a novice version with fewer solder points and simpler power input, facilitating easier assembly, and an advanced version using the same processor, LEDs and other gadgets, but they report “utilizes a more complicated (and flexible!) power input system that, for all intents and purposes, turns your badge into a Minty Boost. Yes, it is possible to put your badge together to charge your cell phone. Very handy at hacker cons.”
Complete documentation including schematic and BOM are available from the Notacon 9 badge page and are released under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 United States (CC BY-SA 3.0) license. The Notacon crew usually make PCBs and parts kits available for sale some time after the conference, so those interested should keep tabs on their Nerdsnook webstore page.