My course has primarily focused on robotics projects using the EZ-B controller and a camera for real-time interfacing. With recent developments, I am planning to create an additional video that incorporates Synthiam's support for other types of controllers. Although I've successfully flashed an alternative controller, it lacked compatibility with camera integration and Wi-Fi capabilities. The absence of an onboard computer limits the use of a USB camera, posing a significant challenge.
This dependency on specific components like the EZ-B, IO Tiny, and cameras can be problematic. For my course project, Mecha Morphix, which involves controlling five servos, the Arduino Mega seems excessive. I am in search of a suitable controller, compatible with Synthiam ARC, that includes both Wi-Fi and camera support to effectively replace the EZ-B.
I noticed that the ESP32 with a camera is listed among the supported controllers for ARC. Has anyone experimented with using the ESP32 in conjunction with a camera for such applications? Any insights or experiences would be appreciated.
From internets: Most ESP32 models feature dual-core processors (Core 0 and Core 1), enabling true, simultaneous execution of tasks, or the use of single-core multitasking via time-slicing.
xTaskCreatePinnedToCore: This function allows developers to assign specific tasks to a particular core (Core 0 or Core 1) to manage resource usage.
thanks! multi cores and threaded doesn't work the way ppl think it does when objects and peripherals are shared. so when i said the single threaded makes it difficult - that's mostly referring to how the esp32 and all microcontrollers share resources. technically, the real way it "could" work is if it was 3 cores haha. because one could be acting as the tcp stack wifi driver. but anyway, i have a solution without the overhead of time slicing.
remember, the camera is blocking i/o not the cpu - which is also the biggest factor.
so my new code i wrote should solve the issue... at least, i think so. i'll have to publish it later after the new ARC release. we have an ARC release planned this monday but i'm gonna squeeze in a few changes into it for firmwares.
Brilliant! Thanks for all the hard work! Looking forward to testing. Have a good rest of your weekend.