> simulating a USB client device ... requires specialized hardware that is also very expensive

Pretty much any off-the-shelf SBC can present itself as a USB HID device like a keyboard. You can buy a very capable rp2040-based board for <$5.

What part of this equation requires expensive hardware?

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LoganDark 6 hours ago | parent [-]

The part where I want wired ethernet to that SBC, not some funky proprietary wireless chip as in ESP32. I almost found a solution, but I've been unable to get my picoprobe to properly flash and reset the board for some reason, so I haven't been able to use it for development. I'll have to troubleshoot that again sometime if I enter another bout of caring.

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swiftcoder 6 hours ago | parent [-]

> The part where I want wired ethernet to that SBC,

In that case the path of least resistance becomes something like a $22 NanoPi NEO (has onboard ethernet, widely used in PiKVM setups)

	▲	LoganDark 6 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Oh, you were talking about SBC, not embedded. I even echoed it, should've noticed. Whoops. Maybe I'll look into that, wouldn't require messing around with the picoprobe. Thanks!