Handling Appliance Having an Adaptive Collision Protection System

A handling appliance, comprising:

• at least one handling device that is movable in at least one direction of movement;
• a collision protection device configured to limit contact forces due to collisions of the handling device with objects, the collision protection device comprising a kinematic system that mechanically enables a relative movement of the handling device with respect to a carrier of the handling device, said kinematic system being configured to be inhibited by at least one actuator device and to enable the relative movement in a collision;
• and
• an acquisition device configured to determine forces acting on the at least one actuator device and/or on the handling device and on components of the collision protection device decoupled by the at least one actuator device,
• wherein the collision protection device is configured to account for the determined forces and, via the at least one actuator device, the collision protection device is configured to:
• in the absence of a collision, prevent relative movement of the handling device with respect to the carrier of the handling device, and
• in response to a collision, trigger and/or enable relative movement of the handling device with respect to the carrier of the handling device.