DigiKey and Maker.io present a tutorial where you learn how to use ESP-NOW, a connectionless communication protocol developed by Espressif for transmitting packages between ESP32 boards without needing to establish a WiFi connection.
ESP-NOW is a lightweight, connectionless peer-to-peer communication protocol developed by Espressif for their ESP32 and ESP8266 microcontrollers. The protocol is intended for transmitting small amounts of data with a payload size of up to 250 bytes per message. It uses MAC addresses to identify peers and supports encryption. A single sender can address up to twenty clients in unencrypted mode. However, broadcasting offers a less secure way to address unlimited clients.
Unfortunately, the code differs slightly between ESP32 and ESP8266-based devices, and makers must remember this fact when working with both MCUs. Other than that, there’s no limitation on which ESP-based boards can act as senders or receivers, and you can mix the two MCU types.
The basic idea is the same for the two types. The sender’s WiFi module operates in station mode and adds clients to its internal list of known peers via their MAC address. The server can then send data to these peers, add new ones, and remove existing ones, for example, in case of an error.
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