ESPNowCam - Data streamer

The ESPNowCam library is a simple and direct video or data streamer designed for popular ESP32 devices, utilizing the ESPNow protocol. No need for IPs, routers, or credentials—keeping it straightforward and hassle-free! :D

This library is for general purpose, as it accepts pointers to various types of data, including buffers, strings, images, or any byte-formatted content. This flexibility enables transmission of larger packages across different scenarios, not limited to cameras alone. For instance, a buffer of 4000 bytes takes approximately 1/9 of a second to transmit, resulting in a frame rate of around 9FPS.

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Performance

The current version tested with the next cameras:

Sender	Frame	JPGQ	FPS	Status
TTGO TJournal	QVGA	12	~11 FPS	STABLE
Freenove S3	QVGA	12	~10 FPS	STABLE
Freenove S3	HVGA	12	~6 FPS	STABLE
M5CoreS3	QVGA	12	~11 FPS	STABLE
M5UnitCamS3	QVGA	12	~9 FPS	STABLE
XIAO ESP32S3	QVGA	12	~9 FPS	STABLE

Full list of senders and receivers devices supported

Library installation

PlatformIO:

Add the following line to the lib_deps option of your [env:] section:

hpsaturn/EspNowCam@^0.1.10

Or via command line:

pio pkg install --library "hpsaturn/ESPNowCam@^0.1.7"

Arduino IDE:

For Arduino IDE is a little bit more complicated because the Arduino IDE dependencies resolver is very bad, but you only need:

1. Download and install the Nanopb library using the Include Library section via zip file
2. and then with the Library Manager find ESPNowCam and install it.

Note: Nanobp is not included as a dependency because, despite being 25 years after the invention of symbolic links, Arduino IDE does not support these types of files. Consider exploring PlatformIO for your future developments, as it offers a more versatile and modern development environment.

Usage

To send any kind of data, you only need a buffer and the size to send:

ESPNowCam radio;

radio.init();
radio.sendData(out_jpg, out_jpg_len);

To receive the data, you only need to define a buffer and callback:

radio.setRecvBuffer(fb);
radio.setRecvCallback(onDataReady);
radio.init();

void onDataReady(uint32_t lenght) {
  tft.drawJpg(fb, lenght , 0, 0, dw, dh);
}

It is also possible to define a specific target:

uint8_t macRecv[6] = {0xB8,0xF0,0x09,0xC6,0x0E,0xCC};
radio.setTarget(macRecv);
radio.init();

Predefined drivers:

The library includes some pre-defined camera configs to have an easy implementation, for example:

#include <ESPNowCam.h>
#include <drivers/CamFreenove.h>

CamFreenove Camera;

and you able to change the Camera parameters, e.g:

Camera.config.fb_count = 2;
Camera.config.frame_size = FRAMESIZE_QQVGA;

For now, it includes drivers for FreenoveS3, XIAOS3, M5UnitCamS3, and the TTGO T-Journal cameras, but you are able to define your custom camera like is shown in the custom-camera-sender example. If you can run it in a different camera, please notify me :D

Examples

[video]

Transmiter Camera samples

ENV Name	Details	Frame	Status
freenove-basic-sender	PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	QVGA	STABLE
freenove-hvga-sender	PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	HVGA	<6 FPS
freenove-nojpg-sender	PSRAM, 2FB, NOJPG	QVGA	<2FPS
xiao-espnow-sender	PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	QVGA	STABLE
xiao-fpv-sender	POWER ON/OFF, PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	QVGA	STABLE
unitcams3	PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	QVGA	TESTING
custom-camera-sender	Custom settings - optional PSRAM	QVGA	STABLE
tjournal-espnow-sender	NOPSRAM, 1FB, internal JPG	QVGA	STABLE
m5cores3-espnow-sender	PSRAM, 2FB, JPG built-in camera	QVGA	STABLE

Receivers samples

ENV Name	Details	Status
m5core2-basic-receiver	Video receiver [1]	STABLE
m5core2-espnow-receiver	Video receiver [1]	STABLE
m5cores3-espnow-receiver	Video receiver [1]	STABLE
makerfabs-basic-receiver	Video receiver [1] [2]	STABLE
makerfabs-nojpg-receiver	Video receiver [1] [2]	<2FPS
tft-3.5-basic-receiver	Any TFT display with LGFX [1]	STABLE

[1] Use with any sender sample
[2] Use with freenove HVGA sender sample for example.

Advanced samples

ENV Name	Details	Frame	Status
xiao-fpv-sender	POWER ON/OFF, PSRAM, 2FB, JPG	QVGA	STABLE
freenove-tank	sender and custom payload receiver	QVGA	TESTING
m5stickCplus-joystick-tank	custom payload - Telemetry	--	TESTING

Running samples

For install and run these tests, first install PlatformIO open source ecosystem for IoT development compatible with Arduino IDE and its command line tools (Windows, MacOs and Linux). Also, you may need to install git in your system.

For compile and install each sample, only choose one of them envs names in the table, and run the next command in the root of this project, like this:

pio run -e m5cores3-espnow-receiver --target upload

Some examples, *.ino samples, only needs run pio run --target upload into each directory

ESPNow Transmitter and Receiver

The last version has many improvements, and right now is very stable. For now, it supports one transmitter and multiple receivers in real time using broadcast, and also P2P connections using MAC address. Could works multiple sources to one receiver using an ID for each source.

[video]

Troubleshooting

The Freenove camera sometimes needs good power cable and also takes some seconds to stabilization, that means, that not worries for initial video glitches.

For Arduino IDE users, if you have a compiling error, maybe you forget install NanoPb library. Please see above.

This project was developed and thoroughly tested on PlatformIO. While I did compile and execute it successfully on Arduino IDE using Espressif 2.0.11 and Arduino IDE 2.2.1, with PSRAM enabled, I generally avoid using Arduino IDE due to its tendency to mix everything and its buggy nature. Therefore, I highly recommend using PlatformIO for a smoother and more reliable development experience.

Supported Devices

The library was tested on the next devices:

Cameras:

• ESP32 TTGO T-Journal (without PSRAM)
• ESP32S3 Freenove Camera
• M5CoreS3 (builtin Camera)
• XIAO ESP32S3 Sense Camera
• Unit-CamS3

Receivers:

• M5Core2 (tested on the AWS version)
• M5CoreS3
• Makerfabs Parallel using LGFX
• TFT 3.5 and 2.5 " using LGFX (ILI9488/9486)
• Generic TFT with LGFX support (better with PSRAM)

TODO

• NanoPb possible issue #1 (payload size)
• Unified ESPNow in an one class for all transmitters and receivers
• Isolate the ESPNow Receiver and Transmitter in a seperated library
• Add sender callback to improve speed
• Added internal drivers for some popular Cameras
• Migration to esp_wifi_80211_tx() to improve Payload and Quality

Credits

I want to extend my gratitude to @ElectroZeusTIC and @AcoranTf for testing it on Arduino IDE. Also to @UtaAoya for your findings around the M5UnitCam device.

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