ESP32 local webserver over USB / ethernet

[madeforarcade]

Hi,

we are building arcade games and use ESP32 at the core to read sensors , move actuators and control lights. We would like to display variables (game data) information on a large screen that is inside the arcade games but are stuck on the best hardware procedure. We do not need internet / wifi as everything runs local.

The (seemingly overcomplicated ?) route we are trying now is to use ESP32 in AP mode running a webserver , that in turn talks to a mini PC hooked up to a large monitor running a browser in Kiosk mode.

We have implemented ESP32 webserver with Server Side Events (SSE) and have used AJAX both over wifi , but wifi is too slow and the signal is unstable (especially in environements where we operate our machines).

We are looking for a hardwired fast and stable solution. We have looked at little bit into ethernet connection or maybe even something like tinyUSB but we do not know if these are correct avenues to explore.

In your opinion what would be the best configuration to use a large screen monitor to display local ESP32 data in a friendly (HTML?) manner that can also implement simple graphics (and sound would be a nice bonus)

many thanks in advance for helping us point the way.

[MicroController]

Not sure exactly what you want.
Where is the game to be implemented?
Do you want to connect a big display to an ESP (and do away with the PC), do you want to send (small amounts of) (IO-)data from the ESP to the PC for the PC to do rendering and game logic, or do you want to implement the game on the ESP and have a PC only as output device (kind-of like the first option)?

If having a PC in the setup is an option, I would definitely implement as much as possible on the PC, so that the microcontroller is basically just an IO 'coprocessor' for buttons and blinky lights. This would require very little bandwidth between the PC and the MCU, UART could be fine.

At the other end, you could look into generating video (and sound) on the ESP, e.g. VGA.
Or pick an ESP32-S3 and use its TFT-controller capabilities.