Abstract: An apparatus for determining the relative position and orientation of an object by automatic equipment. The objects are transported in a first movement direction on a translucent conveyor belt. A line array of photodiodes is arranged transversely to the belt. The electrical condition of these diodes is scanned in synchronism with the movement of the belt. The extreme signals in the longitudinal and the transverse direction of the belt indicate the tangent points of two sets of mutually parallel, but transverse relative to each other, tangent to the objects. The relative positions of the points are compared with a stored system of coordinates for regularly spaced orientation directions of the objects. The closest correspondence matches the orientation and position of the object. Thus, it is not necessary to memorize each position of objects in an object handling or similar apparatus, so that control processing is simplified.