Spaceagon EMF – The EMF hacker camp in the UK is returning with a new event badge, the Spaceagon, which Tildagon owners can update to through a front-panel swap or buy directly. Along with minor hardware improvements—better buttons, LEDs, and display mounting—the badge adds c
The next EMF is still some way off, but for people who’ve already lived with the last badge, the writing has been on the desk for months: the hardware is evolving, and it’s staying familiar.
Four years ago, the EMF hacker camp in the UK released a new kind of event badge called the Tildagon. It was designed to be a recurring event badge—useful for future EMF gatherings rather than turning into e-waste. Now, with the 2026 event coming up, there’s a new version: the Spaceagon.
It lands as an upgrade you can actually live with. Tildagon owners can update their badge with the Spaceagon front panel. while people who don’t already have one can buy the new badge outright. The changes are framed as refinements rather than a total reset. The Spaceagon includes a few minor updates from its predecessor. including better buttons. improved LEDs. and display mounting that’s meant to hold up better with use. Beyond that familiar base, it brings new controls and sensing: a compass, a joystick, and touch-sensitive areas.
The larger story here is how EMF’s badge ecosystem keeps pushing toward a modular future. The Tildagon introduced its own add-on format, the Hexpansion, and this year brings the first official Hexpansion: a keyboard. It uses the same rubber moulding used on several maker projects. a detail that matters because it points to a practical. manufacturable approach—not just a one-off experiment.
The design choice is also deliberate. The keyboard Hexpansion is built around an edge connector rather than a set of pins on the device. The benefit is straightforward: it can make attaching the add-on cleaner and more resilient. The trade-off is equally clear in the way the hardware is described—using an edge connector costs more in terms of badge parts.
To get a Spaceagon. organizers say you should be able to order it for EMF. and they also describe an upgrade kit for anyone who already owns a Tildagon. The badge also isn’t entirely new territory for people following the project: the publication says it covered the 2024 version when it arrived. and it adds that this isn’t the first keyboard add-on for the Tildagon either.
For now, the badge isn’t just an object for a single weekend. It’s an excuse to keep building on what already exists—one upgrade panel at a time, one add-on edge connector at a time.
EMF hacker camp Tildagon Spaceagon Hexpansion keyboard add-on edge connector badges maker hardware UK
So it’s like a badge you can upgrade? I’m confused why they need a joystick for a “badge” lol
Wait does the Spaceagon replace the Tildagon or do you just slap a new panel on? The article keeps saying upgrade but also “buy directly” so… which one is it
I saw “compass and touch areas” and figured it’s basically a mini GPS tracker thing, like for finding people at the event. Is that what it does or am I mixing it up with some other gadget
Honestly badges are getting wild. Keyboard add-on?? Edge connector?? That sounds expensive and like they’re just selling hardware parts in a circle. But hey I guess if it stops e-waste then cool? Still sounds kinda unnecessary