Pick up a free Dabao at Devcon 8, build something cool on it, win up to $5,000.

Open software on secret hardware misses the point. The Dabao runs the Baochip-1x / CrossBar Daric — a chip whose design source we published, and whose die you can inspect with IRIS. Register here, pick up your limited-edition Devcon 8 board in Mumbai, and show us what an open chip lets you build.

The challenge: "Show us something cool on this board, win a prize." No categories, no required stack.

Hackathon Important Dates

  • Duration: November 3 - December 15.

  • In-Person Pickup in Mumbai: November 3 - 6

  • Results Announced: December 18

How it works

  • Register on this page and choose your pickup window. Opt in as a Builder to reserve your board.

  • Start now — the tools and the BIO simulator are on GitHub. No board needed yet.

  • Pick up your Dabao in Mumbai, Nov 3–6, at either the Impact Space or our off-site event.

  • Build from the day you pick up, at the Impact Space bench or wherever you are.

  • Submit one link — a repo, a video or a write-up — by Tues, Dec 15, 9 pm ET. Submission link to be announced.

  • Winners announced online Fri, Dec 18, 9 pm ET.

Prizes

Up to $5,000 for the builds that impress us most.

Pickup

  • Tue Nov 3 – Fri Nov 6: CrossBar Impact Space, Jio World Centre (until 15:00 on Nov 6)

  • Weds Nov 4 19:30: Off-site Launch Event at Sofitel Mumbai BKC - Please also register at Sovrency C8 Launch

Walk-ups get a board only if any remain. Can't make it to Mumbai? Request a board under "Direct Shipping" and we'll send it to you.

What "something cool" can mean

  • BIO · I/O engine — make the four 700 MHz RISC-V I/O cores do something new.

  • Signing · Ethereum — a signer you can inspect: crypto accelerators, key store, TRNG on open RTL.

  • Verification — check the chip against its source; build a tool others can reuse.

  • Countermeasures — attack it, then defend it: glitch sensors, security mesh, ECC RAM.

  • Xous · Rust OS — an app that needs the MMU.

  • Tooling — make the next hacker faster.

How we judge

  • Works — a live demo on the board, not a slide.

  • New — something the chip enables that other boards don't.

  • Open — source published, reproducible by the next person.

  • Uses the silicon — BIO, MMU, crypto, IRIS: the more of the chip, the better.

The board

  • VexRiscv RV32IMAC @ 350 MHz with an MMU

  • BIO: 4× PicoRV32 @ 700 MHz I/O co-processor

  • 4 MiB RRAM + 2 MiB SRAM; USB 2.0 HS, SPI, I²C, UART, ADC, camera

  • Crypto accelerators, TRNG, key store, glitch sensors, security mesh

  • TSMC 22 nm, IRIS-inspectable package, RTL published

  • Runs Xous, a Rust microkernel

100 % of our own design — CrossBar's and Baochip's — is open. Some third-party IP is closed, and we say so.

Start before Mumbai

  • Getting Started with Baochip

  • xous-core on GitHub

  • The BIO co-processor and its tools

  • Board design files

FAQ

  • Do I have to be in Mumbai? Yes, to get a free board. Free boards are handed out only in person in Mumbai around Devcon 8.

  • Can't make it to Mumbai? We're happy to ship you one; you just cover the $20 shipping.

  • How many boards are there? A limited number. Builders are reserved first, then board-only requests in the order they come in.

  • What do I submit? One link: a repo, a video or a write-up. Source published, so the next person can reproduce it.

  • Who judges? Engineers from CrossBar and Baochip.