shown generally at 10 in fig1 is a frontal perspective view of one embodiment of a device that embodies the principles of the present invention . this embodiment has a housing 12 formed of two side chambers 14 , 16 joined by a top support 18 . these chambers define an object - receiving opening 20 . extendable from each of the side chambers 14 , 16 are a plurality of finger arrays 22 , 24 respectively . these fingers ( also referred to hereinafter as finger units ) are arranged in a selected array as , for instance , confronting groups of fingers in a plurality of rows and columns as illustrated . thus , a finger 26 of one array confronts finger 28 in the opposing array . of course other arrays can be utilized as well as non - confronting relationships . for purposes of explanation , fingers in a column are , for example , identified as 26 , 26a , 26b , 26c , 26d . in a row , the fingers are identified as 26 , 26 &# 39 ;, etc ., in one row , and 26a , 26a &# 39 ;, etc ., in the next row with corresponding identification . similarly , the fingers in array 24 are identified as 28 , 28a - d , and 28 &# 39 ;, and 28a - d &# 39 ;, etc ., as shown . depicted in this view is an object ( e . g ., a hollow vessel ) 30 contacted / grasped by this embodiment of the invention . as will be discussed in more detail hereinafter , the fingers of the arrays 22 , 24 are piston - like elements that can be moved in fixed paths axially along their individual long axes . this embodiment of fig1 ( and fig2 and 3 ) utilizes fluid ( gas or liquid ) pressure applied to the interior of side chambers 14 , 16 through a header 32 which is attached to conduit 34 . of course , the top support 18 can be used as the header if desired . application of pressure through the conduit 34 and header 32 causes the finger arrays 22 , 24 to be moved toward and possibly contact the object 30 . it can be seen , for example , that fingers 26 and 28 do not contact the object and neither do fingers 26b , 28b , 26d and 28d . certain of the other fingers do not travel a full distance before they contact the object . it can be seen that if the pressure is retained , the object is securely held and can be moved from place to place by moving the device 10 . reversing the pressure , i . e . making the pressure within the side chambers 14 , 16 less than the exterior pressure , causes the fingers of each array 22 , 24 to withdraw from the object . although not shown in fig1 each of the fingers in arrays 22 , 24 is provided with means to ascertain the amount of ( distance ) movement out of the chambers 14 , 16 . details of typical distance measuring means will be described hereinafter . although each of the distance measuring means will have electrical leads , these leads are not illustrated in fig1 ( or fig2 - 5 ); however , such leads would be carried through the top support 18 to external circuits . this illustrated embodiment has removable end covers 36 , 38 on the side chambers 14 , 16 which are typically retained with screws 40 . of course , it will be understood that the chambers can be formed with other constructions suitable for the various applications of the device 10 . referring now to fig2 this is a vertical section taken at 2 -- 2 of fig1 . thus , it can be seen that side chamber 16 is formed by the aforementioned top support 18 together with walls 42 , 44 , 46 , 48 ( and the cover 38 ). these walls and cover define a cavity 50 surrounding the fingers , with the fingers penetrating the wall 48 . since fingers 28 , 28b and 28d , for example , are fully extended into the opening 20 ( see fig1 ) the ends of these fingers are visible in this cross - section . however , fingers 28 &# 39 ;, 28a , 28a &# 39 ;, etc ., are not fully extended and thus the plane of the cross - section passes through these fingers as shown . although the rear portion of the object 30 cannot be seen in fig1 the position of the rearward fingers of row 28 , 28 &# 39 ;, 28 &# 34 ;, etc ., indicates that the object 30 has a projection at the rear against which these fingers are contacted . in this fig2 shown in phantom lines , is a collar 51 useful for mounting the present invention to a manipulator arm , for example . other appropriate mounting means can , of course , be utilized . fig3 is a vertical cross - sectional view of the device of fig1 taken at 3 -- 3 therein . illustrated is an object 30 &# 39 ; of a different configuration however to further illustrate movement of the fingers . it can be seen that , for example , the fingers of array 24 pass through closely fitting openings 49 in the wall 48 ( the structure in side chamber 14 is identical ). these openings define &# 34 ; guide means &# 34 ; whereby the finger units move along fixed paths . each finger can have a slightly enlarged head 52 as indicated on finger 28 &# 34 ;. this prevents loss of a finger from the side chamber 16 . of course , other restraining means can be used . resilient pads 54 , 56 are shown as attached to the inner wall of covers 36 , 38 , respectively . these provide cushioning as the fingers are withdrawn into the side chambers 14 , 16 . prior to a discussion of other embodiments of a total device of the present invention , it should be understood that the fingers as illustrated in the figures can have other cross - sectional shapes . one such alternative cross - section is illustrated at 58 in fig9 ; e . g ., rectangular or square in cross - section . this is shown passing through a support wall ( guide ) 60 , with a seal 62 surrounding the finger to minimize leakage around the finger . when perfectly linear motion is to be utilized , and no rotation is required , the fingers can have other cross - section such as triangular , cross - shaped , oval , etc . referring again to fig1 the operation of this embodiment will be explained . by reducing the pressure within the chambers 14 , 16 relative to the external pressure , all fingers of each array 22 , 24 are fully withdrawn with but the most extreme end protruding into the opening 20 . the device is placed over the object 30 . there is no need for the object to be centered or oriented vertically as shown , i . e . it can have any position or orientation . when the object is in the opening 20 , pressure is applied to the interior of the chambers 14 , 16 and the fingers move out along their fixed paths to contact the object in the manner illustrated . the object can be released by reducing the pressure to withdraw the fingers . this is referred to herein as applying a &# 34 ; reverse pressure &# 34 ;. as stated above , each finger is equipped with means for determining the extent of movement of the finger to the object . these means produce electrical signals directly related to these distances . thus , through appropriate programming of the signals , an &# 34 ; identification &# 34 ; of the shape of the object can be generated . conventional signal processing as described hereinafter can be used to create accurate depiction of the shape . in the embodiment of fig1 - 3 , the fingers are extended or retracted in unison by applying the same pressure against all of the fingers . furthermore , these fingers are shown as only being supported by one wall ( other guide means could be added ). while this construction is suitable for certain applications of the present invention , other applications may preferably require individual finger operation and / or greater support . finger units to accommodate this individual movement and additional support and guidance are illustrated in fig1 and 11 . referring first to fig1 , a portion of a support wall 64 is illustrated . mounted from this wall is a finger support and guide sleeve 66 defining an internal cylindrical recess 68 . fitting within this recess 68 is a piston - like finger 70 . the wall is provided with an opening 72 communicating with the recess 68 whereby a pressure ( or reverse pressure ) from a source 71 can be applied through the opening causes the finger to move axially in the recess . alternatively , rather than an opening through the support wall , the wall 64 can be imperforate and an opening can communicate with the recess 68 near the wall . in either construction , a separate feed line 73 with appropriate valving 75 , can communicate with the opening such that the valving can control the application of pressure ( or reverse pressure ) to individual or sub - groups of cylindrical recesses and thereby affect selective movement of individual fingers or groups of fingers . the finger embodiment of fig1 provides the same support , guidance and individual actuation in a slightly different manner . in this embodiment , a support wall 64 &# 39 ; carries a support tube 66 &# 39 ; having a substantially axial passageway 68 &# 39 ;. communication with this passageway is through opening 72 &# 39 ; ( or an opening through the wall of support tube 66 &# 39 ;). surrounding the support tube 66 &# 39 ; is a piston - like finger 74 that defines a cylindrical recess 76 to receive the support tube . as in the embodiment of fig1 , individual connection can be made to a source of pressure ( and reverse pressure ) to provide for individual finger movement in an array of fingers . in fig4 another embodiment 10a of the present invention is illustrated . this embodiment functions in a manner similar to that of fig1 - 3 but is constructed utilizing three chambers 78 , 80 and 82 , each having an array of fingers 84 , 86 and 88 , respectively . since this is a bottom view of the device 10a , the other fingers in the columns of the arrays are not visible . these arrays are illustrated in a position to grasp a generally cylindrical object depicted at 90 . although not shown , the chambers are mounted to an appropriate frame or support to form a housing whereby the positional relationship of the chambers remains fixed during operation of the device 10a . it will be understood that the frame or support can be structured for the selective positioning of the chambers if desired . further , it will be understood that the chambers can have alternative positional relationship to each other rather than the equal angular ( 120 degree ) relationship that is illustrated . each of the chambers is provided with a port 92a , 92b , 92c for the application of pressure or reverse pressure for effecting axial movement of the fingers in each array . referring now to fig5 shown therein at 10b is a generally hemi - spherical grasping / contacting device ( a generally hemi - cylindrical device could utilize substantially the same construction ). this embodiment is fabricated from a body ( housing ) 94 that defines a plurality of cavities 96 , 96a , etc ., the cavities being along the circumference of circular paths having a center of the body 94 as their center . each of these cavities communicate with a common header 98 through openings 100 , 100a , etc ., in a manner similar to the construction of fig1 . a port 102 is provided to apply pressure or reverse pressure to the header and thus to the cavities . positioned within each cavity is a finger such as 104 , 104a , etc ., of circular cross - section , with these fingers adapted to move with one degree of freedom along their long axes in fixed paths as established by the cavities . thus , they can be withdrawn into the body 94 or extended from the body into a region 105 corresponding to the remainder of a sphere ( or cylinder ) to grasp an object , such as at 106 . for clarity in this drawing , fingers that are in a rearward portion of the body 94 ( if hemispherical ) are not shown . a transverse cross - sectional view of the embodiment 10b is illustrated in fig6 . only approximately one - half of the total cross - section is shown : the remaining portion is a mirror image of that shown . in this view the other cavities and corresponding fingers are illustrated whereby a symmetrical array is depicted . in this embodiment 10b all finger units have the same cross - sectional size . the angular relationship of &# 34 ; columns &# 34 ; of fingers is illustrated as being about 30 degrees ; however , any other selected uniform or nonuniform relationship can be used that will provide fingers to grasp / contact the object to achieve the desired operation . fig7 is similar to fig6 in that it is a partial cross - sectional view of an embodiment 10b &# 39 ; that is similar to embodiment 10b . the only change is a variation of the diameter of the cavities ( e . g . 96 &# 39 ;, 96a &# 39 ;, etc .,) and their respective fingers ( e . g . 104 &# 39 ;, 104a &# 39 ;) from a central portion to an outer portion . this structure permits use of a greater number of &# 34 ; columns &# 34 ; of fingers where desired or necessary . in some applications , it may be desirable to grasp / contact the inner surface of a hollow object having an opening leading to that inner surface . an embodiment of the present invention for such applications is illustrated at 10c in fig8 . this embodiment has a body 108 from which finger arrays 110 , 112 project in opposite directions so as to contact the inner surface 114 of an object 116 . only one column of fingers in arrays 110 , 112 are illustrated ; however , additional columns would be utilized in order to determine the shape of the surface 114 . as in other embodiments , pressure or reverse pressure is applied to the body 108 through conduit 118 to effect axial movement of the fingers . in the embodiments described hereinabove , the fingers of the robotic devices are actuated by fluids via pneumatic or hydraulic systems . the particular choice of a gas or liquid , respectively , is somewhat dependent upon the environment in which the device is used . when used in air , for example , air can be used as the operating fluid . similarly , in a water environment , water is a suitable fluid . of course , these are not the only fluids to use in these environments , and a person skilled in the art can make a proper selection . further , there are some environments where leakage of the fluid around the fingers is not detrimental ; in other uses , a seal can be used ( as in fig9 ) if leakage is to be prevented . the present invention is not limited to fluid operation of the fingers . for example , a finger unit embodiment such as illustrated at 120 in fig1 can be used . this is a linear motor wherein sequential electrical energization of coils 122 in or near a support wall 124 causes the finger 120 to be moved axially relative to the wall as a &# 34 ; linear motor &# 34 ;. the finger 120 is shown in fig1 to have an alternately configured contacting end 126 as compared to the contacting end of previously illustrated finger units . although a sharply pointed contacting end is generally preferred when the contour of a highly irregular surface is to be computed ( since the tip usually contacts the object rather than some point to the rear of the tip ) objects having more regular surfaces , e . g . nearly rectangular or cylindrical , can be grasped and their contour deduced with a finger tip of other configuration . it is a matter of exactly determining the distance traveled by the finger , and the shape of the finger tip , that provides information as to the shape . the exact position of each and every finger of the present invention can be determined using numerous methods . a finger particularly adaptable for use with a linear movement detection device is illustrated at 128 in fig1 , 13a and 13b . the finger is supported and guided in a header 130 , and is provided with a flat surface 132 along the length thereof from proximate an enlarged head 134 to proximate the object - contacting end 136 . this construction provides for the placement of an appropriate detection means 138 proximate this flat surface 132 ; for example , a reader for coded information can be used as illustrated in fig1 . a further use of a finger unit 128 having a flat surface 132 is illustrated in fig1 . applied to this surface 132 is a resistance element 140 ; in this embodiment the resistance element is u - shaped . insulatively mounted from the header 130 are a pair of slider units 142 , 144 for contacting the resistance element . as the finger moves ( under any form of motion ), the resistance value between the slider units varies . when this varying resistance is part of a measuring circuit , the change in resistance is directly relatable to the amount of movement of the finger unit and thus the position of the tip 136 . a schematic diagram of a similar resistance - type movement detection system is illustrated in fig1 . in this embodiment a resistance element 146 extends along a finger unit 148 . this resistance element is connected to a current source 150 ( or a voltage source ) such that there is a voltage developed along the resistance element . a fixed slider contact 152 moves along this resistance element as the finger unit moves ; thus , an input voltage to a sample - and - hold ( s / h ) circuit 154 is proportional to the position of the finger unit . since this is an analog signal , it is fed to an analog - to - digital ( a / d ) circuit 156 , with the digital output then fed to an appropriate processing equipment 158 . it will be understood that the s / h , a / d and processor are conventional circuits that would be known to one skilled in the art . each finger unit would be monitored in a similar manner . high speed switching arrangements ( multiplexing ) can be incorporated whereby the s / h and a / d circuits can be used for a multiplicity of finger units . the position of finger units can also be determined by capacitive and inductive techniques as illustrated in fig1 and 17 , respectively . in fig1 , for example , a finger unit 160 , acting as one &# 34 ; plate &# 34 ; of a capacitor , moves within a sleeve 162 which is the other &# 34 ; plate &# 34 ;. this capacitor is a portion of an oscillator circuit 164 , with the output frequency thereof being a function of the position of the finger unit 160 . the output of the oscillator is fed to a gated counter ( ctr ) 166 which measures that frequency , and a digital signal related thereto is fed to the processor 168 for converting the finger unit position into shape information about an object that the finger units contact . a similar frequency - varying measurement is effected with the system illustrated in fig1 . the finger unit 160 moves within an inductor 170 . this inductor changes impedance as a function of the position of the finger unit 160 . since the inductor is a part of the oscillator circuit 164 &# 39 ;, the ctr 166 detects the frequency change and provides a corresponding signal to the processor 168 . as referred to previously , encoder tracks 172 can be placed on the surface of a finger unit 174 as illustrated in fig1 . typical means for creating these encoder tracks are : magnetic means , as commonly used in magnetic head - disk head position tracks ; optical means , either reflective or transmissive , as provided in commercially available optical encoders ; or conductive as found in commercially available &# 34 ; brush &# 34 ; encoders . typically , these codes are arranged as one of several binary codes : natural binary ; gray binary ; or binary coded decimal . thus , the code can depict distance along the finger unit . positioned proximate the finger unit is a pickup unit 176 . information &# 34 ; read &# 34 ; from the encoder tracks by the pickup unit is fed into a memory unit 178 and thence to a signal processor 180 . the memory unit can be a portion of the processor unit if desired . referring again to the matter of individual or sub group operation of the finger units ( see fig1 , 11 , 12 ), this construction provides for a further advantage of the present invention . for example , there can be applications where the object being grasped in the robotic hand is to be realigned from its grasped position . this might involve realigning a bolt for properly engaging a threaded receptor . this can be accomplished by withdrawing a selected portion of the finger units and extending other finger units , without fully releasing the object , such that the position of the object is shifted into the desired alignment . when a plurality of surface points are located on an object , conventional computational methods are known to provide general information as to the shape of the object ( provide an iterative fit ). thereafter information as to the volume , the centroid and / or the principal axes of the object can be ascertained . also , information from &# 34 ; unknown &# 34 ; shapes can be matched with that of known shapes in order to recognize features of the object , for example . further , known techniques can be used to further refine the shape determination as by taking into account the shape of the finger unit tip . the manner of surface shape determination , as well as determining other characteristics of an object , can be explained by referring to fig1 . several of the steps involve a yes / no selection , and then algorithms well known to persons skilled in the art perform the desired treatment of the information signals . input signals , as at 182 , are typically derived from the analog - to - digital ( a / d ) convertor , the gated counter ( ctr ), or the memory ( m ) shown in fig1 - 18 . of course , if other systems are utilized to determine the position of each finger , the input at 182 would be from those systems . using a standard algorithm , or precomputed tables of finger linear travel versus 3 - dimensional finger tip position ( derived from the known fixed loci of finger position relative to the housing the input signals are converted into three - dimensional signals at 184 . this provides the information in a 3 - d surface data array . from this data the centroid of an object having that surface can be determined at 186 using an algorithm known in the art . having made this determination , a user of the present device makes a choice ( at 188 ) as to whether the shape is to be displayed or not . this selection usually is based upon whether there is an observer to review a display . assuming that the information is to be displayed , an appropriate scale for the data is selected at 190 . this scaled data is re - converted to 2 - d information using a conventional algorithm at 192 , and then impressed upon an appropriate display unit 194 ( usually a crt ). depending upon the adequate recognition of the object , a choice can be made at 196 as to whether the data needs further refining in order to display an object that can be recognized or has a sufficiently detailed surface . if no further refinement is desired , there is a choice ( at 198 ) as to whether other views of the object are desired . if the choice is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, the work is complete . if the answer is &# 34 ; yes &# 34 ;, the information is transmitted for a &# 34 ; rotation &# 34 ; or &# 34 ; translation &# 34 ; at 200 such that the information can be displayed in the desired view just as the original information was displayed . it will be recognized that depending upon the shape of the surface of the object and the configuration of the ends of the fingers , the very tip of the finger will not always be the only contact point against the surface of the object . this can be seen , for example , in fig5 . while some of the fingers have their pointed ends against the surface of the object 106 ( e . g ., 104b - d ), others touch along the slant or even at the heel of the slant ( e . g . 104 ). thus , the finger travel distance to a surface touched by the tip will be different than if the heel portion touches . the same would be true for other tip configurations , such as the rounded tip 126 illustrated in fig1 . thus , refinement of the data usually involves an adjustment for the finger tip configuration as at 202 . this refined data is then fed back to the input to be re - treated for display , etc . in those instances where a decision at 188 is &# 34 ; no &# 34 ;, the centroid data is translated to &# 34 ; coordinate zero &# 34 ; using known data - handling techniques at 204 . this provides normalized data from which various features can be extracted at 206 , such as volume , principal axes , etc . this information as to specific features can be compared to stored information pertaining to selected known shapes at 208 . for example , the data for a particularly - shaped bolt could be in storage . this would be compared with the incoming data to determine if that data matches the particular bolt . if not , other stored data would be compared until there is a match . usually the object will be recognized from this comparison ( at 210 ). if it is recognized , any appropriate action can be taken as indicated at 212 . if the object cannot be recognized , a decision can be made at 214 to either visually display that data ( using the steps described above ), or a decision can be made at 216 to further refine the data as to the finger tip shape ( for example ) as previously discussed . it is again emphasized that once a method of obtaining information signals corresponding to the position of each tip of the fingers of the present device has been selected , the processing of the data is accomplished using known techniques . these state of the art techniques have been developed for computerized graphics . having described fully the construction of several embodiments of the present invention , together with a system for treating the data obtained from the invention , it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the present invention has numerous applications for which there currently is no known device having comparable capabilities . for example , in underseas exploration where the water is often murky , the present invention can be used to contact / grasp an object and provide an identity thereof without a complete visual observation . similar identification can be accomplished in other environments where there are hazards or handicaps for an individual . further , when the fingers are individually provided with movement means , objects held by the present device can be reoriented while still being grasped in order to derive new data or facilitate placement of the object . this , then , adds another degree of movement that is not possible with conventional remotely - operated manipulators . while only specific embodiments of the present invention have been described herein , these are not given as a limitation of the present invention but only as examples . accordingly , the present invention is to be limited only by the appended claims and their equivalents when taken together with the detailed descriptions .