The Ware for October 2025 is shown below.
Thanks to Juan C. for contributing this curious ware!
I really can’t get enough of how the whole device is integrated with a multi-layer stacked PCB. I imagine that inside the middle of the stack there could be some interesting circuitry going on, too.
I redacted one part number to try and make things a smidge more challenging; at least, an LLM wasn’t able to outright guess the ware when that part number was omitted (but of course, the spirit of the game is to sharpen the wetware sitting on your shoulders by trying to reasoning about the function of the ware, with the aid of reference searches to find datasheets, learn theory, etc).
That connector is used by G4 processors on old Apple PowerMacs – but that isn’t a PowerMac processor.
Could it be some sort of signal terminator for IBM POWER systems? I could believe they used the same connector.
If it’s Apple (Since they love their proprietary connectors) and camera related (Needing the heavy parallel processing that an FPGA provides), could be part of an Apple camera or monitor? The ICE40 FPGA came out in 2011, so it’s newer than that part.
My initial guess would have to be Apple Vision Pro VR headset
Nevermind. The PCB is green, so it’s definitely not an Apple product. They love the color black.
The form factor, FPGA, and big Analog Devices part scream “camera”. I think the big AD part, and the smaller companion on the back are driving a CCD and digitizing the image data.
Though only having one big connector on one side makes me question that theory. Typically you’d have the sensor on one side, and data going to a computer on the other.
The FPGA and that huge grid connector make me think it’s pretending to be something. Maybe you attach it to pads where a BGA memory package would ordinarily be soldered, and this works like memory that you can control from another computer?
This is likely to give a lot away. It appears to be a mezzanine card that goes into a server. I’ve seen very similar ones for things like RAID controllers in HP BL460c blades. Usually these servers go in a chassis and have no fans or PSUs. All a blade server really has is a large connector that goes into a back plane. I would say it likely is not from HP or Cisco since they normally have thumb screws on the card to tighten those down and this one looks to need something else.
This link shows a server, the connectors and the back plane connector.
https://hardforum.com/threads/can-you-use-hp-mezzanine-cards-on-pci-e.1576593/
The Analog Devices chip suggests that some analog to digital signal processing is occurring. I really doubt that network connectors on a blade chassis would pass analog signals to a server, so that really leaves audio processing. I’d expect video processing would use a GPU.
I am assuming that this is a finished product and not a development board where you bring your own FPGA based CPU or logic and do what you want.
If this doesn’t go into a server then I would expect the board itself to have any analog connectors terminate on the board and feed into the DSP.
My guess would also be audio processing. The only TQFP-120 Analog Devices listed by mouser are fancy DSPs like https://www2.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Analog-Devices/ADSP-21565BSWZ8?qs=pUKx8fyJudBgLk4PIN9TQQ%3D%3D
So maybe an optional/upgradeable effect module for a synthesizer or a mixer or something.
The datasheet for the DSP also mentioned ADAP (presumably Advanced driver-assistance system ) as an application, so it could also be a module that processes sensors data in a vehicle.
The backside seems to have duplicate channels of analog circuitry so some sort of stereo audio maybe?
Could the connector be the 20×10 Amphenol MEG-Array? It looks like it’s made for high data throughout.
I’m going to go out on the limb with guessing and say that this is part of a Phantom high speed camera of some kind. They have parts that are both square and the same kind of screw holes of this PCB. They have to have the processing relatively close to the sensor, so that would require the white high bandwidth connector for communication.
They also don’t seem to be worried about space much, so it must be a pretty large camera and not just point and shoot style.
Maybe it’s a Chronos 4K high speed camera? Since the creator of those seems very fond of using mezzanine connectors.
The creator also seems to really like using Lattice FPGAs too.
Could it also be part of the Chronos ‘Q12’ model? Since it uses both the same mezzanine connector as the Cronos ‘4K12’ model and a cost-reduced FPGA chip?
I couldn’t actually anything to do with the cost-reduced Q12 model, so I unfortunately can’t confirm anything. Hopefully someone else can step in, because this is as far as I can get.
The Lattice ice40 and the 120 pin analog device only have a spi flash attached to it, so it seem unlikely to be data capturing device or pipeline.
I more inclined to think this is related to industrial robot control such as drone BLDC processing etc.