Renesas has introduced its most powerful Cortex-A85 microcontroller to date: the R8P1, clocked at 1 GHz and equipped with a 500 MHz Arm Ethos-U55 NPU for edge AI applications, as well as an Arm Cortex-M33 real-time core clocked at 250 MHz. With a 2D GPU, MIPI DSI and parallel RGB display interfaces, MIPI CSI and parallel camera interfaces, and I2S and PDM audio interface, the Renesas RA8P1 is mainly designed to address Voice AI and Vision AI applications requiring real-time analytics. The 1 GHz microcontroller also has plenty of other peripherals and security features, as we can see from the specifications and block diagram below. Renesas RA8P1 specifications: MCU core Arm Cortex-M85 clocked at 1 GHz with Helium MVE (M-Profile Vector Extension) with 32KB I/D caches; 7300+ CoreMarks Arm Cortex-M33 clocked at 250 MHz with 32KB I/D caches GPU – 2D drawing engine NPU – Arm Ethos-U55 NPU delivering 256 […]
ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam – An ESP32-S3 camera board with active PoE, machine learning examples
The ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam(N16R8) is an open-source ESP32-S3 development board with Ethernet, camera, and active PoE support designed for machine learning applications. Compared to similar boards like M5Stack M5PoECAM-W V1.1 and the Waveshare ESP32-S3-ETH, this board features 17 usable GPIO, active PoE (IEEE 802.3af) with 700mA power delivered, built-in USB-UART, and pin-to-pin compatibility across Stick-Cam boards. Built around the ESP32-S3 SoC, this module supports OV2640 and OV5640 cameras and integrates the W5500 Ethernet controller and Si3404-A PoE chip for power and connectivity. The board has a total of 36 GPIOs, of which 17 are free when using Ethernet and a camera. Applications include remote surveillance, smart home automation, edge AI processing, and other IoT applications. ESP32-Stick-PoE-A-Cam(N16R8) specifications: Wireless module ESP32-S3R8 MCU – ESP32-S3 dual-core LX7 microprocessor @ up to 240 MHz with Vector extension for machine learning Memory – 8MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB SPI flash Connectivity – WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5 with […]
XIAO W5500 Ethernet Adapter: PoE-enabled ESP32-S3 device aims to improve network reliability
Seeed Studio has recently announced the XIAO W5500 Ethernet Adapter with Power over Ethernet (PoE) support and built around the XIAO ESP32S3 Plus WiFi and Bluetooth module, and a WIZnet W5500 10/100 Mbps Ethernet SPI controller. PoE is implemented through an MQ7813T120 module and a 5V regulator with a TPS563201 buck converter. The XIAO W5500 also features an external 2.4GHz antenna for WiFi and BLE, a reset button, status LEDs, and a USB-C port for power and programming, all enclosed in a 3D printed case. XIAO W5500 Ethernet Adapter specifications: Main Module – XIAO ESP32-S3 Plus module Networking Wireless – External 2.4GHz antenna (2.81dBi) for WiFi and BLE Ethernet W5500 Ethernet controller 10/100 Mbps Ethernet with RJ45 connector Integrated isolated PoE module for data + power USB – USB Type-C connector for power and programming Misc Power and User LED Reset buttons Power MQ7813T120 PoE module with isolation (IEEE 802.3af-compliant); 86% […]
Battery-powered knob display board pairs ESP32-S3 and ESP32 wireless SoCs, features audio DAC for audio visualization
The Waveshare ESP32-S3-Knob-Touch-LCD-1.8 is a batterry-powered knob display board designed for HMI applications that combines ESP32-S3 and ESP32 SoCs in a dual MCU architecture. The design differs from other ESP32-based knob / rotary encoder with a built-in display such as the MaTouch SmartKnob, M5Dial, and LILYGO T-Encoder Pro. The Waveshare device also stands out with a larger 1.8-inch capacitive touch display, integrated audio DAC, and real-time audio visualization. It comes with a CNC-milled full-metal enclosure for a more premium and durable build. The devkit supports swipe gestures and volume control, and can be used as a Pomodoro timer, a text reader, a secondary PC screen, and a Bluetooth audio player through a 3.5mm audio jack. Other features include a digital microphone, a vibration motor, and a microSD card slot for storage. ESP32-S3-Knob-Touch-LCD-1.8 Specifications: MCUs Espressif ESP32-S3R8 CPU – Dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller up to 240 MHz with vector instructions for AI […]
ESPHome 2025.6.0 adds ESP32-P4 and OpenThread support
The ESPHome 2025.6.0 open-source firmware was released on June 18, 2025, with ESP32-P4 support and an initial OpenThread implementation for ESP32-C6 and ESP32-H2 SoCs, thanks to an upgrade to the ESP-IDF framework to version 5.3.2. The developers note that support for ESP32-C6, ESP32-H2, and ESP32-P4 is still being refined, and some components may not yet be fully compatible with these chips, but additional component updates are planned for ESPHome 2025.7.0 next month. That still means that ESPHome devices can connect to Thread networks and communicate with Home Assistant through the Native API as long as you have an OpenThread border router and Thread is enabled in Home Assistant. Users should note some limitations to Thread support: ESPHome does not yet support the Thread “Sleepy End Device” mode Not recommended for applications requiring high-frequency sensor data transmission Best suited for simple control and monitoring use cases Other changes to ESPHome 2025.6.0 […]
HackLED Pro LED controller – An Adafruit Sparkle Motion alternative with WS2812 and RGBCW LED support
HACK Lab HackLED Pro is an Adafruit Sparkle Motion-like LED controller that runs a custom version of WLED and supports both WS2812 and RGBCW LEDs, making it ideal for DIY lighting projects, smart home setups, and audio-reactive light displays. Built around an ESP32 MCU, this board includes 2-way WS2812 LED outputs, 5 PWM channels (RGBCW), and an onboard silicon microphone for music reactive LED setup. Like the Sparkle Motion, the outputs of this board are level-shifted, and there’s also a power switch that toggles the output power between 5V and 12V. The board features a USB-C port with a PD controller, with which you can power and program the board. The controller is housed in a thermally protected 3D printed case and is also compatible with the generic version of the WLED firmware. HackLED Pro specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-WROOM-32E-N4 WiFi and Bluetooth module with 4MB Flash LED Control 2x […]
ESP32-S3 development board integrates SI4732 AM/FM radio receiver
LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 is an ESP32-S3 development board with an AM/FM radio, a TFT display, a rotary encoder, a built-in microphone, and a microSD card slot powered through a USB-C port or LiPo battery. As its name implies, it’s based on the earlier LILYGO T-Embed battery-powered WiFi and BLE controller with a display and rotary encoder, but also adds a Skyworks SI4732 AM//FM/SW/LW radio receiver to the mix. LILYGO T-Embed SI4732 specifications: Wireless module – ESP32-S3-WROOM-1 module SoC – ESP32-S3 CPU – Dual-core Xtensa LX7 processor @ 240 MHz with vector extension for AI/ML Memory – 512 KB SRAM, 8 MB PSRAM Storage – 16MB flash Wireless – 2.4 GHz WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 LE PCB antenna Storage – MicroSD card slot Display – 1.9-inch IPS color TFT LCD with 320 x 170 resolution (ST7789V SPI driver) Audio – 2x microphones, 8 Ohm @ 1W speaker Radio – Skyworth […]
ALIENTEK DNESP32P4M – An ESP32-P4 board without network connectivity
Most ESP32-P4 boards and development platforms we’ve covered so far include an ESP32-C6 or ESP32-C5 wireless module, and in case you don’t want any WiFi and Bluetooth module, the Olimex ESP32-P4-DevKit is one option that comes with Ethernet instead. The ALIENTEK DNESP32P4M board, also called ESP32P4M MINI, adds another option with a form factor similar to Espressif Systems Devkit-C boards. The board does not have network connectivity at all, and exposes all I/Os from the ESP32-P4 through headers, MIPI DSI and MIPI CSI connectors, and two USB-C ports. ALIENTEK DNESP32P4M specifications: Microcontroller – ESP32-P4 (ESP32-P4NRW32) MCU Dual-core RISC-V microcontroller @ 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU Single-RISC-V LP (Low-power) MCU core @ up to 40 MHz GPU – 2D Pixel Processing Accelerator (PPA) VPU – H.264 and JPEG codecs support Memory – 768 KB HP L2MEM, 32 KB LP SRAM, 8 KB TCM, 32MB PSRAM Storage – […]