B4R Question Arduino UNO + ESP8266-01 + Android

[Mark Read]

Not knowing where else to post this, I will try here.

I have at present: 1 Arduino UNO + ESP8266-01 Wifi board to test.

I am connecting the UNO and ESP via softserial and programming via the Arduino IDE directly to the UNO and using AT-commands.

My aim is three UNO's, each with an ESP module. Each UNO controls at least one motor. They are far apart (5-10m), which makes it impractical to have all motors on one UNO. One UNO also has a sensor delivering data every second. An Ultrasonic sensor could also come into play and maybe a camera.

The whole thing should be controlled via an android tablet (B4A). I know I have asked something similar to this but I cannot find the thread any more.

This is a complete system. There is no possiblility to use internet or external server.

My questions:

1. Would it be better to overwrite the ESP firmware (from Farylink) with B4R?
2. Who is the controlling server or are there more than one?
3. What module gets what type of software server/client?

I am not looking for code, the forum is there for that. I am looking for the basic idea on how to start.

The firmware in the ESP is:

AT version:1.3.0.0(Jul 14 2016 18:54:01)
SDK version:2.0.0(5a875ba)
Farylink Technology Co., Ltd. v1.0.0.2
May 11 2017 22:23:58

I have not used B4R before but am willing to learn. I have read so many threads dealing with MQTT or UDP or HTTP, that now I am lost.

I am grateful for any help.

 

[Erel]

Don't use an UNO together with the ESP8266. Program the ESP8266 directly. It will be simpler.

 

[Mark Read]

Program the ESP8266 directly.

Okay, that answers question 1. What about the other two questions?

 

[Erel]

They are connected to the same local network, right?

You can run a MQTT broker on the Android device and use MQTT which is the simplest method to communicate between multiple devices.

 

[Mark Read]

They are connected to the same local network, right?

The UNO's need to connect to the tablet, all of them. There is no other network available. Making the tablet a MQTT broker make sense (I think). The UNO's would then be the clients.

MQTT communication is bi-directional, is it not? I need to send "commands" from the tablet and the UNO#X reacts to this command (turning on/off motors, get sensor data etc.). It will also be the case that at least one UNO will be sending data continuously to the tablet.

Sorry if these questions are very basic.

 

[Erel]

MQTT communication is bi-directional, is it not?

[IoT] MQTT Protocol

The UNO's need to connect to the tablet, all of them

Use ESP8266.

 

[Mark Read]

Use ESP8266.

Okay. So my setup will be:

Tablet (MQTT Broker) <-> ESP8266 (MQTT Client) <-> UNO1
Tablet (MQTT Broker) <-> ESP8266 (MQTT Client) <-> UNO2
Tablet (MQTT Broker) <-> ESP8266 (MQTT Client) <-> UNO3

I need 5 different programs!

 

[Erel]

What do you need the UNOs for?

 

[Mark Read]

They control the motors and also have the sensors connected. The sensors are industry sensors which are 5V compliant and need RS232. The ESP8266 is only 3.3V, which means I would need to use FTDI.

 

[Mark Read]

As an alternative, what about the NodeMCU V3? A motor controller is quite cheap, the HC-SR04 would work. I also have a few OLED screens lying around!

My sensor could be used via a RS232 to TTL converter.

 

[Erel]

If you can solve it without the UNOs then it will be simpler. Simpler to develop and simpler to maintain.