Halcyon Pendant
The teach pendant, in a browser.
Industrial robots are taught with a hand-held teach pendant. The Halcyon Pendant is that pendant as software: it runs in the browser of a tablet or laptop and programs every Halcyon machine, and, through a retrofit kit we are working on, older arms a business already owns.
The Pendant, layer by layer
- Browser UIThe handset on screen: jog keys, the program, the joints and the E-STOP, on a tablet or a laptop.
- Program storePoints and programs, kept on the controller, named and versioned, never only in the browser.
- Motion plannerJoint and Cartesian moves between the recorded points, inside every joint limit.
- Safety layerEnabling switch, E-STOP and reduced speed in T1, decided on the controller, not the screen.
- Drive busEtherCAT to the servo drives in every joint.
Sheet 01 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-AScale NTS
Chapter 1
What it does
Jog, record, program, step, run, stop.
What it does
Everything a hand-held teach pendant does, on a screen you already own. Six functions, and all of them are in the demo below.
Jog
Move the arm joint by joint, or in straight lines in Cartesian space, while you hold the enabling switch.
Record points
Stop at a position and record it, with the gripper open or shut. Each point keeps its joint angles.
Program
Points become a program: reorder, delete, loop, and load drafts from the Copilot.
Step in T1
Walk the program one point at a time at reduced speed, to check every move by eye.
Run in AUTO
Once a person has checked it, run the program at working speed, once or on a loop.
E-STOP
Stops all motion at once and latches. Nothing moves again until someone resets it.
The live demo
Hold Enable (or Space), jog the arm, record a point, then step it in T1 and run it in AUTO. Press E-STOP at any time.
- MODE
- T1 250 mm/s max
- OVR
- 50%
- STATE
- READY
T1 manual. Hold ENABLE and jog.
| AXIS | DEG | RANGE |
|---|---|---|
| J1 | +0.0 | |
| J2 | +75.0 | |
| J3 | -105.0 | |
| J4 | -60.0 |
- X
- 117.7
- Z
- 85.9
- A
- -90.0
- GRIP
- OPEN
TCP in mm, arm frame (turns with J1). A is tool pitch in deg.
PROGRAM DEMO.PRG3 PTS LOOP
Three-position enabling switch: hold it (or hold Space) with one hand and jog with the other. Release and motion stops. Enter presses a key, Esc is E-STOP.
COPILOT
Describe the job, get a draft programCOPILOTIDLE
Type a job above, or pick an example, then press DRAFT PROGRAM.
Demo: a rule-based preview of the Copilot. The product drafts programs with an AI model; every draft is checked by a person in T1 before it runs.
Interactive demo. A simulated four-axis arm, not connected to hardware.
Sheet 02 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-BScale NTS
Chapter 2
The Copilot
Describe the job. A person checks the draft.
The Copilot
Describe the job in words; the Copilot drafts a program as points for a person to check in T1. Nothing it writes runs in AUTO until someone has stepped it through.
Describe the job
In plain words: what to pick, where to put it, how many.
Get a draft
A program of points, a plan in plain English, and the assumptions it made.
Check it in T1
A person steps every point at reduced speed, edits what is wrong, then switches to AUTO.
Stack 3 parts at the front
Stack 3 parts at the front, 60 mm tall, 18 points.
- P160.0 63.6 -78.4 -75.2OPN
- P260.0 42.4 -94.5 -37.9SHT
- P360.0 63.6 -78.4 -75.2SHT
- P40.0 64.9 -57.2 -97.7SHT
- P50.0 42.4 -94.5 -37.9OPN
- P60.0 64.9 -57.2 -97.7OPN
- ...12 more points
Every point is inside the joint limits and above the table. Step it in T1 before AUTO.
Try the Copilot in the live demo above
The product drafts with an AI model. The demo on this page is rule-based: it runs in your browser, follows fixed rules and sends nothing anywhere.
Sheet 03 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-CScale NTS
Chapter 3
Works with
Halcyon machines, and older arms through a retrofit kit.
Works with
Every Halcyon machine is taught from the Pendant. For an arm a business already owns, a retrofit kit is the idea we are working on. All of them are concepts, in development.
HAL-C6Concept
Bench cobot
A six-axis collaborative arm that works beside people on an ordinary bench.
HAL-R4Concept
SCARA
A four-axis SCARA arm for fast, repeatable picks across a flat work area.
HAL-M1Concept
Lift runner
An autonomous mobile robot that slides under a cart or shelf, lifts it and moves it.
HAL-RKConcept
Retrofit kit
A controller box and a Pendant licence that bring an older, second-hand industrial arm back under a modern teach pendant.
Many workshops can buy a used industrial arm for far less than a new one, then find its controller and pendant are the hard part. The kit would replace them: our controller drives the arm, and the Pendant teaches it. We name no makes: which arms it suits will be worked out arm by arm and listed only once tested.
Sheet 04 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-DScale NTS
Chapter 4
How it connects
A browser, the local network, the controller, the drives.
How it connects
No cloud in the loop: the Pendant runs in a browser on site and talks to the controller over the local network.
A tablet or a laptop
Any modern browser. Nothing to install: the controller serves the Pendant to the device.
The local network
Wi-Fi or Ethernet on site, straight to the controller. No internet connection is needed; it works offline.
The Halcyon controller
Keeps the programs, plans the moves and runs the safety layer. The browser asks; the controller decides.
EtherCAT to the drives
A real-time industrial bus to the servo drive in each joint.
Sheet 05 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-EScale NTS
Chapter 5
Safety, plainly
The browser asks. The controller decides.
Safety, plainly
Four rules, the same ones an industrial teach pendant keeps.
Enabling switch
Motion only while it is held. Let go, or grip too hard, and the arm stops. On the hardware kit it is a physical three-position device; on screen, a key you hold.
E-STOP
One press stops everything and latches until a reset. On the hardware kit it is a physical, hard-wired emergency stop button.
Reduced speed in T1
Teaching and stepping happen at reduced speed. The demo caps the tool at 250 mm/s in T1.
A person checks every program
Taught or drafted by the Copilot, a program is stepped through in T1 by a person before it may run in AUTO.
Design intent Design intent: the hardware kit includes a physical enabling device and E-STOP wired to the controller, so the safety of the machine never rests on a screen. The Pendant is in development and has not been safety-certified.
Sheet 06 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-FScale NTS
Chapter 6
Plans
Pricing on request.
Plans
Three plans, named by what they include. No prices yet.
Pricing on request
Learn
Schools, colleges and training centres
- The Pendant with the simulator only
- No machine connected
- Jog, record, program, step and run on a simulated arm
Price: on request
Workshop
A business with one machine
- The Pendant for one machine
- A Halcyon machine, or an older arm through the retrofit kit (concept)
- Works offline on the local network
- The simulator
Price: on request
Fleet
Several machines on one site
- The Pendant for several machines
- The Copilot
- Predictive care
- The simulator
Price: on request
Sheet 07 / 07Dwg HAL-P1-GScale NTS
Chapter 7
Early access
In development. Tell us what you want to automate.
Early access
The Pendant is in development. Tell us what you would like to automate and we will write when there is something for you to try. The form opens your own email app with the message ready to send; nothing is sent until you send it there.
Questions
Is it available now?
No. The Halcyon Pendant is in development. The demo on this page is a simulation; join early access and we will write when there is something to try.
Does it need the internet?
No. The controller serves the Pendant to a tablet or laptop over the local network on site, so it works offline.
Which robots does it work with?
All nine Halcyon machines: the HAL-C6 bench cobot, HAL-R4 SCARA, HAL-M1 lift runner, HAL-P4 palletiser, HAL-W6 weld cell, HAL-S2 solar panel cleaner, HAL-T1 wheel handler and HAL-V3 vision sorter, all concepts. Older arms would come through the HAL-K1 retrofit kit, also a concept. We do not claim compatibility with any make of robot.
Is the Copilot an AI?
The product drafts programs with an AI model. The demo on this page is rule-based: it follows fixed rules in your browser and sends nothing anywhere. Either way, a person checks every draft in T1 before it runs.
Is a browser safe enough to move a robot?
The safety does not live in the browser. By design the hardware kit has a physical enabling device and E-STOP wired to the controller, and the controller enforces reduced speed in T1. The Pendant has not been safety-certified yet.
What will it cost?
Pricing is on request: tell us what you want to automate and how many machines, and we will quote.