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Benz

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Hi everyone,

I'm starting a new project in which I want to create multiple games inside one room. Those games will use electronics and mechanics. So for almost everyone of this games I'll need to have a monitor and a microcontroller. Besides that i'll have a main pc interfacing with the microcontrollers.
Within the monitors some will be just to display information but others need to have a touchscreen so that the user can interface with them. So my question is how am I going to interface all those monitors/touchscreens (which will be a minimum of eight) to the main pc.
I have some ideias like use tablets instead of monitor+touchscreen and communicate with the main pc using bluetooth, or use one raspberry pi with each monitor+touchscreen and communicate beetwen the raspberry pi and the main pc (e.g. bluetooth) or even use a graphic card with multiple outputs and connect each monitor to the main pc. Does anyone have other suggestions?

any help much appreciated.
 
... Within the monitors some will be just to display information but others need to have a touchscreen so that the user can interface with them. So my question is how am I going to interface all those monitors/touchscreens (which will be a minimum of eight) to the main pc. ...
Assuming (as you state) that each monitor will be connected to its own PC, WiFi links to the Central PC (CPC) should suffice.

That many remote devices, however, will certainly task the CPC, depending on the complexity of system you have in mind.

or even use a graphic card with multiple outputs and connect each monitor to the main pc
This arrangement would completely overwhelm a single PC, especially considering the core software (for whatever is being played) trying to keep up.
 
Assuming (as you state) that each monitor will be connected to its own PC, WiFi links to the Central PC (CPC) should suffice.

That many remote devices, however, will certainly task the CPC, depending on the complexity of system you have in mind.

This arrangement would completely overwhelm a single PC, especially considering the core software (for whatever is being played) trying to keep up.

Thanks for the answer cowboybob. What I was trying to say is that i'll have multiple games, for each one i'll have a microcontroller, but only for some of those games i'll need to have a monitor+touchscreen. So you are suggesting adding to the microcontroller a small pc or even replace it by a pc? And then use Wifi to the central PC?
 
Essentially, yes.

When you say "micro-controller", do you mean a PC or something like a Arduino level machine. Or an Xbox?

Whatever, as it is, I don't have a good understanding of your basic concept, i.e.,
1. what sort of games and what sort of hardware do they each require,
2. what is the CPC doing? What software is it running?
3. Does the CPC interact with the game PCs or merely monitor their activities?

Maybe a block diagram of your concept would be useful.
 
Essentially, yes.

When you say "micro-controller", do you mean a PC or something like a Arduino level machine. Or an Xbox?

Whatever, as it is, I don't have a good understanding of your basic concept, i.e.,
1. what sort of games and what sort of hardware do they each require,
2. what is the CPC doing? What software is it running?
3. Does the CPC interact with the game PCs or merely monitor their activities?

Maybe a block diagram of your concept would be useful.

By microcontroller I mean a STM32 ARM.
1. Just some basic games, which require to read some sensors and use some outputs like leds, servos etc...
2. Generate the image to the monitors and read the touchscreens, also should be able to communicate with the microcontrollers to read data from the sensors and actuate outputs. The software is not defined yet, but should allow the user to do the previous operations.
3. It does interact with them.

Based on a suggestion from another forum, bellow is a diagram of the concept. Where the main pc would be running a web server and each tablet or monitor+mini pc would be displaying the required webpage. The grey rectangles just represent that some of the monitors/tablets are associated with a microcontroller (like displaying data read from the sensors connected to the micro).

**broken link removed**
 
If I did this project:
Here is a small computer, $35.00 usd
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B ARM Cortex-A53 CPU 1.2GHz 64-Bit Quad-Core 1GB ARM, 4xUSB, HDMI,
All computers can talk together over a network (wired or wireless).
The Raspberry Pi 3 can talk to a PC over the network.

I am using one as a laptop computer. (USB keyboard, USB mouse, monitor, Ethernet, SD card)
Raspberry Pi 3 can talk to HDMI monitor or a touch screen.
Does audio and real time video.
**broken link removed**
If this is too much power, there is a Raspberry Pi 0 for $5.00 usd. It is single core. Some things missing. (wireless missing) Smaller memory.

In a PC network each looks like a PC.
 
Last edited:
If I did this project:
Here is a small computer, $35.00 usd
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B ARM Cortex-A53 CPU 1.2GHz 64-Bit Quad-Core 1GB ARM, USB, HDMI,
All computers can talk together over a network (wired or wireless).
The Raspberry Pi 3 can talk to a PC over the network.

I am using one as a laptop computer. (USB keyboard, 4xUSB mouse, monitor, Ethernet, SD card)
Raspberry Pi 3 can talk to HDMI monitor or a touch screen.
Does audio and real time video.
**broken link removed**
If this is too much power, there is a Raspberry Pi 0 for $5.00 usd. It is single core. Some things missing. (wireless missing) Smaller memory.

In a PC network each looks like a PC.

Thank you ronsimpson. That's what I was thinking to use. Any other suggestion to the project?
 
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