element14 Community
element14 Community
    Register Log In
  • Site
  • Search
  • Log In Register
  • Community Hub
    Community Hub
    • What's New on element14
    • Feedback and Support
    • Benefits of Membership
    • Personal Blogs
    • Members Area
    • Achievement Levels
  • Learn
    Learn
    • Ask an Expert
    • eBooks
    • element14 presents
    • Learning Center
    • Tech Spotlight
    • STEM Academy
    • Webinars, Training and Events
    • Learning Groups
  • Technologies
    Technologies
    • 3D Printing
    • FPGA
    • Industrial Automation
    • Internet of Things
    • Power & Energy
    • Sensors
    • Technology Groups
  • Challenges & Projects
    Challenges & Projects
    • Design Challenges
    • element14 presents Projects
    • Project14
    • Arduino Projects
    • Raspberry Pi Projects
    • Project Groups
  • Products
    Products
    • Arduino
    • Avnet & Tria Boards Community
    • Dev Tools
    • Manufacturers
    • Multicomp Pro
    • Product Groups
    • Raspberry Pi
    • RoadTests & Reviews
  • About Us
  • Store
    Store
    • Visit Your Store
    • Choose another store...
      • Europe
      •  Austria (German)
      •  Belgium (Dutch, French)
      •  Bulgaria (Bulgarian)
      •  Czech Republic (Czech)
      •  Denmark (Danish)
      •  Estonia (Estonian)
      •  Finland (Finnish)
      •  France (French)
      •  Germany (German)
      •  Hungary (Hungarian)
      •  Ireland
      •  Israel
      •  Italy (Italian)
      •  Latvia (Latvian)
      •  
      •  Lithuania (Lithuanian)
      •  Netherlands (Dutch)
      •  Norway (Norwegian)
      •  Poland (Polish)
      •  Portugal (Portuguese)
      •  Romania (Romanian)
      •  Russia (Russian)
      •  Slovakia (Slovak)
      •  Slovenia (Slovenian)
      •  Spain (Spanish)
      •  Sweden (Swedish)
      •  Switzerland(German, French)
      •  Turkey (Turkish)
      •  United Kingdom
      • Asia Pacific
      •  Australia
      •  China
      •  Hong Kong
      •  India
      • Japan
      •  Korea (Korean)
      •  Malaysia
      •  New Zealand
      •  Philippines
      •  Singapore
      •  Taiwan
      •  Thailand (Thai)
      • Vietnam
      • Americas
      •  Brazil (Portuguese)
      •  Canada
      •  Mexico (Spanish)
      •  United States
      Can't find the country/region you're looking for? Visit our export site or find a local distributor.
  • Translate
  • Profile
  • Settings
Community Hub
Community Hub
Member's Forum Recommended Wireless Technology for Hub-and-Spoke Pattern
  • Blog
  • Forum
  • Documents
  • Quiz
  • Events
  • Leaderboard
  • Polls
  • Files
  • Members
  • Mentions
  • Sub-Groups
  • Tags
  • More
  • Cancel
  • New
Join Community Hub to participate - click to join for free!
Actions
  • Share
  • More
  • Cancel
Forum Thread Details
  • State Not Answered
  • Replies 4 replies
  • Subscribers 588 subscribers
  • Views 92 views
  • Users 0 members are here
  • hub
  • wireless controller
  • bluetooth low energy
Related

Recommended Wireless Technology for Hub-and-Spoke Pattern

Tekkromancer
Tekkromancer 1 day ago

Hi all!  I was fortunate enough to have come across the Learning Circuit playlist, and have learned a lot over the past few weeks.

I am trying to build a project that has a wireless hub-and-spoke model. A hub will be connected to a phone/tablet via Bluetooth. The hub will control two "pods" wirelessly to control a motor, LEDs, simple speaker, etc. It would be a similar structure to wireless earbuds that are controlled by the case.

What would I need to do this? Would a Bluetooth connection be appropriate for connecting the pods to the hub? Is there another wireless technology that would be better suited for this?

Below is a diagram of the structure.

Thanks!

image

  • Sign in to reply
  • Cancel

Top Replies

  • dougw
    dougw 20 hours ago +2
    A microcontroller can be both a Bluetooth client and Bluetooth host or server. (BLE) https://www.electronicssimplified.in/esp32/esp32-ble-server-and-client-with-arduino-a-complete-guide/
  • dougw
    dougw 16 hours ago in reply to Tekkromancer +1
    You can't get a BLE module, whether it is a microcontroller or not, much cheaper or smaller than an ESP32.
Parents
  • dougw
    0 dougw 20 hours ago

    A microcontroller can be both a Bluetooth client and Bluetooth host or server. (BLE)

    https://www.electronicssimplified.in/esp32/esp32-ble-server-and-client-with-arduino-a-complete-guide/

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +2 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Cancel
  • Tekkromancer
    0 Tekkromancer 19 hours ago in reply to dougw

    Thanks for the reply, dougw !

    It looks like this could work for my project.  However, I wonder if having a full microcontroller in each pod.  Are there other "smaller" or simplified BLE microcontrollers that I could use in the pods?  In my novice optinion, a full ESP32 seems like it might be overkill.  It wouldn't require any memory or processing, other than activating pins based on the signals sent from the hub.

    I'd want to control a motor (possibly through a DRV2605L), RGB LED, and a speaker.

    Thanks!

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Cancel
  • dougw
    0 dougw 16 hours ago in reply to Tekkromancer

    You can't get a BLE module, whether it is a microcontroller or not, much cheaper or smaller than an ESP32.

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up +1 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Cancel
  • BigG
    0 BigG 3 hours ago in reply to Tekkromancer

    You should also consider the SDK. There's little value having an MCU that you find is too difficult to program.

    For dev boards, you cannot go wrong with the SeeedStudio Xiao product range. Offer all of the above.

    www.seeedstudio.com/XIAO-Dev-Boards-c-2477.html

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Cancel
Reply
  • BigG
    0 BigG 3 hours ago in reply to Tekkromancer

    You should also consider the SDK. There's little value having an MCU that you find is too difficult to program.

    For dev boards, you cannot go wrong with the SeeedStudio Xiao product range. Offer all of the above.

    www.seeedstudio.com/XIAO-Dev-Boards-c-2477.html

    • Cancel
    • Vote Up 0 Vote Down
    • Sign in to reply
    • Verify Answer
    • Cancel
Children
No Data
element14 Community

element14 is the first online community specifically for engineers. Connect with your peers and get expert answers to your questions.

  • Members
  • Learn
  • Technologies
  • Challenges & Projects
  • Products
  • Store
  • About Us
  • Feedback & Support
  • FAQs
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Legal and Copyright Notices
  • Sitemap
  • Cookies

An Avnet Company © 2026 Premier Farnell Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Premier Farnell Ltd, registered in England and Wales (no 00876412), registered office: Farnell House, Forge Lane, Leeds LS12 2NE.

ICP 备案号 10220084.

Follow element14

  • X
  • Facebook
  • linkedin
  • YouTube