The M5Stack Unit PoE-P4 is a tiny, PoE-powered development kit built around the ESP32-P4NRW32 SoC. The module integrates a 10/100Mbps Ethernet PHY, supports IEEE 802.3at PoE for single-cable power and data, and provides MIPI DSI/CSI display and camera interfaces.
It’s designed as a network-enabled node with built-in PoE (up to 6W output), a USB Type-C host port, and a separate USB Type-C OTG/download interface, along with an RGB LED, IR transmitter, user button, Grove (HY2.0-4P) port, Hat expansion header, and SDIO/ISP expansion interfaces, making it suitable for industrial HMI panels, PoE smart terminals, camera/vision acquisition nodes, smart home controllers, and edge computing devices.
M5Stack Unit PoE-P4 specifications:
- SoC – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4NRW32
- CPU
- Dual-core 32-bit RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU
- Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz
- Memory
- 768 KB HP L2MEM (for dual-core CPU), 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM (for LP MCU core)
- 32MB PSRAM
- Storage – 128 KB HP ROM, 16 KB LP ROM
- GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA)
- VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support
- CPU
- Storage – 16MB NOR Flash
- Display I/F
- MIPI DSI via 24-pin 0.5mm FPC connector (touch + backlight)
- Supports up to 1920×1080 resolution (lane/frame-rate dependent)
- Camera I/F – 2-lane MIPI CSI via 24-pin 0.5mm FPC connector
- Networking – 10/100Mbps Fast Ethernet RJ45 port with PoE support via an integrated IP101GRI PHY (previously seen in Banana Pi BPI-6202)
- USB
- 1x USB 2.0 Type-C Host port (for USB disks, HID devices, etc.)
- 1x USB 2.0 Type-C OTG port, also used for firmware flashing/debugging
- Expansion
- 4-pin HY2.0-4P Grove interface
- 16-pin Hat2-Bus header (2.54mm pitch)
- 9-pin SDIO-Bus header (2.54mm pitch)
- 6-pin ISP-Bus header (2.54mm pitch)
- Misc
- User button
- RGB LED indicator (NH-B2020RGBA-HF)
- Infrared transmitter (MHS153IRCT)
- Power
- 5V via USB Type-C port
- IEEE 802.3at PoE up to 6W maximum output via onboard DC-DC converter
- Consumption
- Normal Operation – 73.82mA @ 5V
- Full load (display, camera, IR, RGB active) – 277.10mA @ 5V
- Deep sleep – 19.85mA @ 5V
- Dimensions – 64.0 x 24.0 x 20.2 mm
- Weight – 28.2 grams
- Temperature Range – 0°C to 40°C
In terms of software support, the Unit PoE-P4 PoE development board can be programmed with the ESP-IDF framework, the Arduino IDE, and M5Stack’s UIFlow 1 and UIFlow 2 visual programming environments. Check out the documentation page for details.
Other ESP32-P4 boards with PoE support, either built-in or through add-ons, include the Waveshare ESP32-P4-WIFI6-POE-ETH, Olimex ESP32-P4-PC, and Waveshare ESP32-P4-ETH. The design of the latter is close to the Unit PoE-P4, but it’s just a board, while the M5Stack device is a fully enclosed devkit.
The Unit PoE-P4 is available for $21.50 on AliExpress and the M5Stack store.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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