Abstract: A spraying apparatus is disclosed, in which a manipulator consisting of a plurality of articulations (linear movement articulations and rotational movement articulations) is mounted on a carriage and a spraying nozzle member is mounted on the last stage rotational movement articulation, which are so constructed that material to be sprayed is supplied to this spraying nozzle member through a hose, and a piping path is formed in the interior of at least rotational movement articulations, for which it is feared that the hose becomes tangled therewith or twisted. A sensor is mounted on either the nozzle or the manipulator to detect the distance between the nozzle and the surface being sprayed. A controller responds to the signals produced by the sensor to maintain the nozzle at a substantially constant distance from the surface during spraying.