Heading to a maker meetup, conference, or hackerspace this summer? Pimoroni’s brand-new badgeware lineup turns the humble name tag into a programmable, wearable mini-computer powered by the RP2350 chip — and it’s catnip for tinkerers.
The collection includes three distinct flavors: the Badger with a low-power e-ink display, the Tufty featuring a vibrant 2.8-inch color LCD, and the Blinky, which lights up the room with a chunky white LED matrix. Each ships with a lanyard and a translucent jewel-toned polycarbonate case that even includes built-in LEDs to make the internals glow. Pricing starts around $55, with all three boards refreshing the older RP2040 designs in a slightly taller form factor for bigger screens and beefier buttons.
What’s under the hood
Inside every badge sits an RP2350A microcontroller paired with 16MB of QSPI flash, 8MB of PSRAM, plus 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. A 1000mAh LiPo battery handles power and recharges over USB-C. Five user buttons line the bottom and right edge for navigation, with extra Home/Boot and Reset/Sleep buttons hiding around back. Makers will also spot an SWD debug port and a Qwiic/STEMMA QT-friendly I2C connector for hooking up sensors, joysticks, or breakouts.
Each unit boots into a launcher menu loaded with MicroPython sample apps — clocks, simple games, drawing tools, Pomodoro timers, and of course an ID badge. Programming new firmware is as easy as plugging into Thonny and treating the device like a regular Raspberry Pi Pico. Pimoroni also exposes a polished API for graphics, fonts, vector shapes, and more.
Build a badge of your own
You don’t need a fancy commercial badge to get this kind of fun. Roll your own using parts from Circuit.Rocks — a Raspberry Pi Pico or Pico W makes a great brain, an ESP32 adds Wi-Fi muscle, and tiny OLED or e-ink displays slot in nicely for the screen. Add a LiPo cell, a TP4056 charger module, a few tactile buttons, and a 3D-printed shell to finish the look.
- Raspberry Pi Pico / Pico W or ESP32 dev board
- 0.96″ or 1.3″ OLED, e-ink, or LED matrix display
- LiPo battery + TP4056 USB-C charger
- Tactile push buttons and a custom enclosure
Whether you grab a ready-made Pimoroni badge or hack one from scratch, summer 2026 is shaping up to be the most personalized convention season yet. Time to flash some firmware and show off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I buy the parts to build the projects on this blog?
Boards, modules, sensors, and accessories featured in our build guides are stocked at Circuitrocks. We focus on hobbyist and maker electronics – Arduino, Raspberry Pi, ESP32, sensors, breakout boards, and the small parts that make a project work.
What hardware does Circuitrocks stock?
We carry Arduino Uno and Nano, the full Raspberry Pi lineup (Pi 4, Pi Zero, Pi Pico), ESP32 and ESP8266 dev boards, plus common sensors like the DHT11/DHT22 (temp/humidity), HC-SR04 (ultrasonic distance), MPU6050 (motion), and a wide range of modules, breadboards, jumper wires, and components for prototyping.
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This article was inspired by reporting from Raspberry Pi. Find the parts and modules to build it at Circuitrocks.