--- title: "I built a distributed computer with three cheap ESP32 boards using a feature most people ignore" url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-built-a-distributed-computer-with-three-cheap-esp32-boards-using-a-feature-most-people-ignore-euc5fevcs source_url: https://www.xda-developers.com/built-distributed-computer-three-cheap-esp32-boards type: article source: "XDA Developers" published: 2026-05-14T15:00:56.010Z updated: 2026-05-14T15:01:18.540Z tags: ["iot", "distributed-systems", "embedded"] reading_time: 5 upvotes: 1 comments: 0 language: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I built a distributed computer with three cheap ESP32 boards using a feature most people ignore **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary ESP-NOW is a built-in ESP32 protocol that enables direct board-to-board communication over 2.4 GHz without a Wi-Fi network or IP stack. It operates at the data-link layer, sending vendor-specific action frames directly to MAC addresses, with payloads up to 1,470 bytes in v2.0 and support for up to 20 paired devices. To demonstrate its capabilities, the author split a three-body gravity simulation across three ESP32-CYD boards, each owning one planet and broadcasting its state every 33 ms. The project illustrates real distributed-systems challenges — clock drift, lossy packets, and state divergence — in a tangible, physical form. ESP-NOW also supports broadcast mode, sensor meshes, and robot swarms, and ESPHome added official ESP-NOW support in August 2025. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Someone made a pair of wireless Walkie-Talkies using ESP32s, and so can you](https://daily.dev/posts/someone-made-a-pair-of-wireless-walkie-talkies-using-esp32s-and-so-can-you-mygsyiflr) · XDA Developers · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [NEW GUIDE: ESP-NOW Walkie Talkies \#AdafruitLearningSystem @Adafruit](https://daily.dev/posts/new-guide-esp-now-walkie-talkies-adafruitlearningsystem-adafruit-s8qqesqzg) · Adafruit Blog · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [ESPHome turned my junk drawer into a smart home](https://daily.dev/posts/esphome-turned-my-junk-drawer-into-a-smart-home-2haeuvben) · XDA Developers · 3 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#iot](https://daily.dev/tags/iot), [#distributed-systems](https://daily.dev/tags/distributed-systems), [#embedded](https://daily.dev/tags/embedded) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-built-a-distributed-computer-with-three-cheap-esp32-boards-using-a-feature-most-people-ignore-euc5fevcs)