Abstract: A harvesting head (1, 21), a robotic harvesting system and a method of harvesting objects such as fruit or vegetables using the robotic harvesting system. Robotic harvesting systems for fruit or vegetables generate a percentage of damaged produce due to a lack of sensitivity and adaptability of the system. The current harvesting system incorporates a controller (84) in communication with a load cell (52) which is mounted on the harvesting head (1, 21) for monitoring forces applied to the fruit or vegetables by the harvesting head (1, 21) and controlling the movement and operation of the harvesting head (1, 21) during a picking cycle by a control program executing on the controller in response to the monitored forces.