I am looking to develop a product line using esp32-c3 processors. The key points are this: the product line includes multiple modules (each with their own processor) that need to synchronize and exchange information with one another. I would also like to be able to incorporate an android/IOS app to use basically as a remote control, in addition to an IR remote that will be included with the set.
I could really use a good starting point in terms of getting all these devices to communicate with one another, as well as a phone app, without having to use any wifi router or internet. If anyone can point me in a good direction software development wise, I would really appreciate it. I've never developed a phone app, and have yet to even try to incorporate a feature like esp_now, because I don't know if it leaves room for a phone app to also be incorporated into the network. Any help would be appreciated.
communication can be realized using IR, WiFi, Bluetooth and GSM and different protocols of course. Just to give you some inputs to sort your requirements:
What is the maximum distance for your devices to exchange information?
How much information has to be exchanged?
How often does an exchange take place?
Is it a one-source-to-one-target exchange or a one-source-to-many-targets exchange?
Is it required to use the same medium for all connections or can different media be used?
Which media can be used (at which effort/cost) with each different technology you want to integrate?
I would recommend to draw a communication architecture for your project that shows all intended connections and devices together with their specific requirements, capabilities and restrictions.
Comparing
what you like to achieve with
the technical capabilities (and cost) of the different solutions
you might find some requirements which you have to drop or change ...
Regarding the phone app you might have a look at the MIT App Inventor which provides an easy way to develop apps for I
More particularly, I'm asking about utilizing the native radio hardware onboard the esp32-c3. Range requirement is minimal, a few meters.
One of the devices would have to be a Rx/Tx, the other two would only have to be Rx, unless I wanted to get frisky with corrective code flowing back up the chain to the Rx/Tx to keep timing in a closed loop.
As to the "Rx/Tx" unit, possible data entry paths are added IR remote functionality, or, most preferably a mobile app.