Is it possible to configure the ESP32 to write data log files onto the USB on the TP-Link Archer X55?

[wetwqter]

HI! HELLO!

QUICK DISCLAIMER: We're fairly new to of this, so please bear with us!

We're high school student researchers looking at the possible topic of using the ESP32 as a Water Quality Checker for school.

(ln theory) the plan is to hook up couple sensors to the ESP32 to measure the pH level and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) of the water, and send that data wirelessly so that it may be accessed on a phone.

Originally, we proposed to use a cloud service such as Arduino IoT or Blynk, just as we saw from other sources from the web. However, we consulted with our research advisor and she said that, for research replicability purposes, it would be better to keep the system local, meaning hosting the WLAN and webpage, and retrieving the data all locally. And of course, so that we wouldn't have to pay a subscription service.

We currently have A TP-Link Archer X55 (US) Ver: 1.0 with a USB port. I was able to access the USB's files and even copy files to it from my laptop via the FTP function in Windows Explorer.

We would like to ask if it is at all possible to set the ESP32 as a STATION and connect it the SSID of the TP-Link Archer (as an access point).

We would then connect to the coded HTML webpage of the ESP32, where I could start/stop the process of measuring the data (and see it display in real time).

And (the part where we have no clue about) configure the ESP32 to compile that data, send it to the TP-Link Archer, and write it onto the IJSB. This is so that, if needed later on, you can simply connect to the FTP or whatnot and easily access the USB for the logs (basically database).

So if anyone can help, inform, correct, guide, or point us in the right direction, we would really appreciate it! Thank you!

[ESP_Sprite]

Should be possible. A random search for 'esp32 ftp client' brings up this, but there may be others as well; FTP is not a very complicated protocol.

Note that FTP may not be that well-suited for logging (not sure if you can open a file and append to it), so another option would be to get a small board like a Raspberry Pi or something else that can run Linux and configure an alternative service (mqtt, https+php+mysql, something python-ish, there's a ton of options there) on that. Advantage is that if you document it well, someone can also set up a solution like that in the cloud using the same instructions.