Abstract: A method of controlling a robotic harvesting device to pick a target piece of fruit from a plant includes determining a position of the target piece of fruit, determining a position of one or more obstacles relative to the target piece of fruit , and plotting a path for the robotic harvesting device to be moved along from a starting position to a picking position. The path is plotted such that the movement of the robotic harvesting device along the path serves to move at least some of the obstacles relative to the target piece of fruit so that the obstacles do not impede the picking of the target piece of fruit .