The idea of assembling homemade supercomputers from low-cost systems is nothing new. At NeoTeo we've seen platforms with Raspberry Pi essence in the past, but the latest version still costs $35, and getting multiple Zero units at once is quite complicated. The alternative is to bet on a microcontroller like the ESP32, and experiment with several units through the project Broccoli.
Modern processors have placed dozens of processing threads on the desktop, and it's likely we'll see that number grow alongside greater software parallelism. That's considerable firepower, though limited to everyday tasks, so to speak. If you're more drawn to connecting several computers to combine their power in a more experimental setting, this is one of the best times to do it. While the Raspberry Pi 3 becomes pricey when bought in volume and the Raspberry Pi Zero is sold in limited quantities, there are very interesting alternatives ranging from Orange Pi in different flavors to the ESP32 that brings us here today.
Broccoli is a project developed by Wei Lin, and its goal is nothing less than allowing users to get their feet wet in the waters of clusters by connecting several ESP32s, learning the essential details along the way. Needless to say, the net performance of a single ESP32 is not very large, and the situation doesn't change drastically if we connect something like half a dozen, but the official Broccoli profile on GitHub shows some basic functionality examples.
If Broccoli interests you and you need to buy ESP32s in quantity, your best option is to explore the aisles of eBay and Aliexpress. At an average of seven dollars per unit with free shipping, you can assemble a "mini-supercomputer" of five elements for the same price as a Raspberry Pi 3... unless there are other priorities, like raw performance and ease of use.
