Gentle handling of objects requires a sense of touch, which has not been completely solved by the robotic world. This thesis proposes a novel tactile sensor network, acting as an artificial skin, specifically tailored for grape harvesting tasks. A sensing mechanism, based on two different operating principles, magnetic and optical, offers an extremely sensitive solution needed to accomplish the grabbing maneuver without damaging the fruit. Its complex shape makes evident the necessity of a highly scalable framework, whose number of sensors could increase rapidly, such that as much surface as possible is covered. An innovative approach to serial communication is presented in this study.