Kinematic and control issues are discussed in the context of an articulated, multifinger mechanical hand. Hand designs with particular mobility properties are illustrated, and a definition of accuracy points within manipulator workspace is given. Optimization of tlte physical dimensions of the Stanford-JPL hand is described. Several architectures for position and force control of this multiloop mechanism are described, including a way of dealing with the internal forces inherent in such systems. Preliminary results are shown for the joint torque subsystem used in the hand controller.