Interface device and method for configuring the interface device

An interface device connectable to at least one field device and a control device, the interface device comprising:

• a) at least one port for receiving and transmitting signals between the control device and the at least one field device;
• b) a firmware module comprising a plurality of connected code blocks, the plurality of connected code blocks being configured to receive at least one signal from at least one field device and produce to generate a first output;
• wherein the at least one port includes at least one virtual port for transmitting the first output to the control device;
• and
• wherein the plurality of connected code blocks are generated, by a configuration tool, utilizing a translator, based on a plurality of logical components of a first machine learning application for analysing at least one signal from the at least one field device utilizing a first machine learning model, each code block being associated with a particular logical component from the plurality of logical components.

A non-transitory storage medium for configuring an interface device connected to a control device and at least one field device, the non-transitory storage medium having machine-readable instructions stored therein which, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to:

• a) receive, by a configuration tool, a first machine learning application comprising a plurality of logical components connected in a pipeline, the first machine learning application serving to analyse at least one signal from the at least one field device utilizing a first machine learning model;
• b) generate, by the configuration tool, a plurality of code blocks utilizing a translator, based on the plurality of logical components of the first machine learning application, each code block being associated with a particular logical component from the plurality of logical components;
• c) connect, by the configuration tool, the plurality of code blocks in accordance with the pipeline of the first machine learning application to generate a first output from the at least one signal from the at least one field device;
• and
• d) deploy, by the configuration tool, the connected code blocks on a firmware of the interface device;
• wherein deploying the connected code blocks comprises creating at least one virtual port connectable to the control device, the at least one virtual port serving to transmit the first output to the control device.