Display and processor to use for project.

[SkydiveWags]

I am creating a project that will have three ESP32's.
I need to have two of them at locations where I have a couple simple sensors and one will be used as an operator interface.
This project will be timing a dog from the first set of sensors to the second and the operator will read the course time on the display and will be able to start the count down lights with an input.

I plan to use ESP- NOW, and I have done some testing with the boards I have just using the serial monitor for output and LEDs.

A small screen is fine, but not too small and I was wondering if the ESP BOX would work for this type of project. How customizable is it? I don't need the voice recognition functions, but I would like to use a touch screen. I like the option of the ESP BOX since it will give a clean look for the operator interface. Otherwise I will have to use another combo screen and ESP32 and build a box, or separate screen and ESP32 and a larger box and a lot more wiring.

I would like to keep this as simple and as professional looking as I can. The sensor locations will take some work as I will have to build mounting hardware and some enclosures so it would be nice to have an all in one solution for the main ESP32 for the operator control.

Any pointers would be great and if you want any more information please ask.
Thanks!

[ESP_Sprite]

Sounds like it should work; the ESP32-S3 should have all the peripherals you need, and it has attachments points to click it into something else (e.g. the base station that comes with it) plus IO to connect to it.

[SkydiveWags]

Thanks, do you know if it is easily programmable in the Arduino IDE? I forgot that is the environment I am familiar with.

I also considered the Lilygo T display as a nice all in one system. But they don't offer the touchscreen version in the prebuilt box.

[SkydiveWags]

One thing about the ESP32 Box is that I don't see much support for it online. It seems very few people have used it, so I am not sure if I will get much help if I run into roadblocks.

I have also considered using the Lilygo T display.

For this "base station", I don't need any I/O. This will be talking to the other ESP32's via ESP NOW, receiving signals to start and stop the timer. I would however like to have a color display so I can display the status of the start and end sensors. If the sensors are not aligned properly I want to display that status in read on the display, otherwise I could use a simple 16x2 display and have a start and stop button.

[ESP_Sprite]

In the end, the Box is simply another development board... it just comes with more stuff: it has I2S peripherals, a SPI display, an I2C touchscreen etc. Assuming you know your way around embedded development, the bsp should give you enough to get those peripherals interfaced.

[SkydiveWags]

Thank you, I figured it shouldn't be any more difficult than programing the separate devices.
I went ahead and ordered the ESP BOX. I also ordered the LILYGO T display with touch since it's so cheep. Whichever I don't use on this project will get used somewhere.
This weekend I will concentrate on getting the sensors working and transmitting.

On another note, have you ever worked with sensors outdoors? I need a sensor that will detect a dog going through a "gate" that will be about 8' wide. I have a few options that I am going to try, but I worry about the sun affecting them. My preference is a retroreflective sensor so I only need a reflector on the other side, but I don't think I will get the range. I have a through beam sensor to try also. Unfortunately to get sensors that work over a greater distance and are not so picky about alignment you have to spend more money.

Thanks again!

[ESP_Sprite]

A bit. I've used retroreflector sensors over a distance of 1m50 (5 feet) and that worked well for me, but I imagine it depends on the angles as well: I can imagine sunlight swamping out the detector. Probably best to try and see what works.