Safe-Cracking Robot Steals Show at DEFCON 25

Safe-Cracking Robot Steals Show at DEFCON 25
Joel setting up safe-cracking robot

When your boss asks you if you want to take that crazy safe-cracking robot to DEFCON 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 have. 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 larger stakes.

The Team arrives in Vegas.

After flying in to 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 and BBC!

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

Other outlets that picked up the story included Mashable.

Image courtesy of Mashable

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!

Image courtesy of the BBC

Needless to say, this was the opportunity of a lifetime, and I'm very glad that I got to be a part of it.