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Safe-Cracking Robot Steals Show at DEF CON 25

Joel Bartlett

• 2 min read
Safe-Cracking Robot Steals Show at DEF CON 25

When your boss asks you if you want to take that safe-cracking robot you helped create to DEF CON and break open a safe live in front of hundreds of hackers, you have to say yes!

That was the very question I was asked and opportunity I was fortunate to be given. After the successful cracking of a safe live on YouTube and an article in Wired, the team was given the opportunity to perform the feat once again, only this time on a much larger stage with much higher stakes.

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The Team arrives in Las Vegas.

After flying in to Las Vegas, a safe was procured at a nearby Home Depot. The rest of the day was spent familiarizing ourselves with DEFCON and the room in which the presentation would happen and running around doing interviews with the robot in tow. Our little bot got featured on The Daily Beast, Mashable and the BBC!

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A very nervous Joel setting up the robot and display. Image courtesy of Mashable.

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Image courtesy of the BBC

With the interviews out of the way, it was time to take in the local flavor. The next morning was the big moment. As you can see, it was a big success!

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Image courtesy of the BBC

Needless to say, this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I could not be more excited to have been a part of it.