- Tue Jun 16, 2015 3:31 pm
#20619
My goal is to build a cheap lap timing system for RC cars. Each car will have an ESP8266 with a 38khz IR receiver tied to an input pin. A bar suspended above the finish line will support half a dozen IR LEDs pointing down, flashing at 38khz. When a car passes under the bar, the IR receiver pin goes high, and triggers the ESP to send a signal to a nearby PC. Software on the PC will note the time and originating IP address of the signals from each car to keep track of lap counts/times for multiple cars at once.
This would be a pretty straightforward project for an experienced programmer, but as someone who has never done any networked programming, I'm at a loss.
On the ESP end, what's the best way to connect to the PC? Obvioulsy a wireless router would be simplest, but then you have to power it, and most races are outdoors without easy access to power. Can the ESPs be set up in ad-hoc mode to connect back to a laptop directly? Once connected, what's the best way to send the "crossed-the-line" signal?
On the PC end, I'm not sure where to start. I know I need to set up a "server" of some sort to listen for the signals from the ESPs. What language/IDE would be quickest and easiest? The program only needs to have a very basic GUI - just the ability to assign names to ESP addresses and a grid to show lap times. If I could set up that UI quickly with a WYSIWYG editor, that would be preferred.
I realize this is incredibly basic stuff, so if you could even point me in the direction of a good tutorial for programming over a network, I'd really appreciate it.
This would be a pretty straightforward project for an experienced programmer, but as someone who has never done any networked programming, I'm at a loss.
On the ESP end, what's the best way to connect to the PC? Obvioulsy a wireless router would be simplest, but then you have to power it, and most races are outdoors without easy access to power. Can the ESPs be set up in ad-hoc mode to connect back to a laptop directly? Once connected, what's the best way to send the "crossed-the-line" signal?
On the PC end, I'm not sure where to start. I know I need to set up a "server" of some sort to listen for the signals from the ESPs. What language/IDE would be quickest and easiest? The program only needs to have a very basic GUI - just the ability to assign names to ESP addresses and a grid to show lap times. If I could set up that UI quickly with a WYSIWYG editor, that would be preferred.
I realize this is incredibly basic stuff, so if you could even point me in the direction of a good tutorial for programming over a network, I'd really appreciate it.
