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== Software ==
The ESP8266 controller used in the ESP12F modules has a large and useful software library available. It can be programmed in Lua or C, with or without an OS (RTOS). There is 4MB of flash memory and 36M of (available) RAM. Software is loaded via a serial interface at 230kbps and further OTA updates to that software are possible.
At present, it is envisioned that the Peapod will:
* Gather wifi AP signal strength data at set intervals (every 5 minutes?)
* When the user presses a button, blink the on-board LED in confirmation, and record the button press and timestamp
* Forward the collected data at regular intervales intervals (30 minutes?) via a WiFi connection to a server. By keeping the updates to a fairly slow pace, battery power can be preserved, and the number of simultaneously-active wifi sessions can be held to a manageable number.
The AP signal strength information is sufficient to determine the physical location of the device during the conference; this may be aided by additional access points added at strategic locations(which themselves could be ESP12F devices). Rather than perform the location determination on the Peapod (consuming energy), this analysis will be done on the server side. Various projects report that 2-3m accuracy is possible, but in our case, room-level accuracy is sufficient.
This information configuration will enable:
* A count of the number of attendees present at each of the presentations and workshops
* Immediate feedback on the presentations and workshops (via the button-presses), correlated with location and time information to determine which presentation/workshop is being rated