Abstract: A method and an apparatus for grasping surface mounted devices such as an IC or the like by the hand of the robot and automatically and accurately loading them onto the contact pattern of the printed board by use of an image processor are disclosed. According to this method, a measurement line is provided onto each image pattern of the pin array of the surface mounted device and the array of the contact pattern of the board, so that it may intersect at right angles with the direction of the pattern, and each position of the pin array and the array of the contact pattern is sought from the variation of the brightness on that line. In accordance with the result thus obtained, displacement of the position and that of the rotation over the entire surfaced part and the contact pattern are sought and the operation of the robot is controlled in accordance with that information.