ESP32 Bluetooth Relay Theatre Automation

Date: 2025-12-15 Project: moonlight-drive-in Status: resolved Tags: esp32, bluetooth, relay, pyserial, theatre-automation, lighting

Context

Jess wanted the drive-in to control physical power — lights and other theatre effects — alongside video playback. An ESP32 8-channel Bluetooth relay board (separate repo esp32-bluetooth-relay) was built, and this session added the Python side so the player can switch relays as part of a show.

Key Decisions

ESP32 relay over Bluetooth serial (via pyserial on the Windows host's BT COM port) — cheap, no extra network config, and independent of the LAN.
Separate theatre_automation.py layer between the player and the relay driver — keeps show logic (what switches when) out of the low-level relay module.
Relay control optional — the player still runs if the relay isn't connected.
The earlier KAIYU Bluetooth LED controller route had been abandoned; smart plugs / USB relay boards were researched as alternatives, and the ESP32 relay was chosen.

Technical Details

esp32_relay_controller.py — relay driver (8 channels) over serial.
theatre_automation.py — maps player events to relay actions.
test_relay.bat — connection test script.
Dependency: pyserial.
Relay configuration examples and a reference guide are in the repo docs.

Code Changes

esp32_relay_controller.py — new.
theatre_automation.py — new.
test_relay.bat — new.
Python requirements — added pyserial.
README.md + integration guide + relay config examples.

Open Questions / Next Steps

Confirm which relay channels are wired to which theatre devices and record the mapping in the relay config.

Artifacts

412fc3b — Add ESP32 Bluetooth relay controller Python module
bc3ab2f — Add theatre automation integration for ESP32 relay control
Related repo: https://gitea.hideawaygaming.com.au/jessikitty/esp32-bluetooth-relay

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