Programming by teaching means driving the robot to a position with the pendant, saving that point, and repeating until the sequence is complete. The controller then replays the points with defined speeds and tool commands. It remains the fastest way to set up welding, gluing or palletising paths.
The pendant is also a safety device. It carries an emergency stop button and a three-position enabling switch: released or squeezed hard, motion stops; only the light middle position permits movement inside the cell, so a startled operator cannot keep the robot running.
Newer cobots offer tablet apps or graphical block programming, and hand guiding replaces jogging, but the enabling-switch principle stays.
