System and Method for Sorting and/or Packing Items

An end effector 222 for a robotic arm 214 for manipulating vine fruit comprises a pair of opposing scoops coupled via a connecting portion 490, each opposing scoop comprising a plurality of digits 480 and each digit 480 comprises a pressure sensing means 485 arranged to detect at least one of (i) the magnitude and (ii) the direction of pressure on each of the digits 480 caused by the vine fruit. Each digit 480 may comprise a curved fingertip 487 comprising an extrusion configured to support vine fruit. The end effector 222 may comprise a controller (160 figure 1) to control operation of at least one of the scoop and each digit 480 based on the detected magnitude and/or direction of pressure. The controller (160 figure 1) may determine whether an end effector 222 is correctly holding vine fruit based on an indication of whether the vine fruit is moving relative to the digits 480 and may control the end effector 222 to manipulate at least one of the digits 480 in response to a determination that the end effector 222 is not correctly holding the vine fruit. The controller (160 figure 1) may determine the approximate shape of the vine fruit based on the at least one of (i) the magnitude and (ii) the direction of pressure on each of the digits 480 and may manipulate at least one of the scoops and/or each digit 480 based on the determined approximate shape.