A method for operating a picking device for medicaments, comprising a plurality of storage spaces for medicament bottles and/or packages , an operating device having a gripper , wherein said operating device can be moved horizontally in an X-direction (X-axis) and vertically in a Z-direction (Z-axis) in front of the storage spaces in a movement space , at least one storage device with which medicament bottles and/or packages can be moved into the picking device and from which the gripper can take medicament bottles and/or packages , at least one identification device for identifying medicament bottles and/or packages , an unloading device , to which medicament bottles and/or packages can be transferred by the operating device for removal from the picking device , at least one optical detection device , which is arranged in the picking device such that it can create an image of the movement space , and a control device coupled to the operating device , the identification device and the optical detection device , characterized in that a) after a predetermined event an image of the movement space detectable by an optical detection device is created with the at least one optical detection device , b) predefined areas of the image of the movement space are compared with corresponding areas of a reference image, c) it is determined, based on the comparison of predetermined areas of the image and the reference image, whether an obstacle is present in the detected portion of the movement space , and d) based on the detection of the presence of an obstacle, corresponding signals are provided. a plurality of storage spaces for medicament bottles and/or packages , an operating device having a gripper , wherein said operating device can be moved horizontally in an X-direction (X-axis) and vertically in a Z-direction (Z-axis) in front of the storage spaces in a movement space , at least one storage device with which medicament bottles and/or packages can be moved into the picking device and from which the gripper can take medicament bottles and/or packages , at least one identification device for identifying medicament bottles and/or packages , an unloading device , to which medicament bottles and/or packages can be transferred by the operating device for removal from the picking device , at least one optical detection device , which is arranged in the picking device such that it can create an image of the movement space , and a control device coupled to the operating device , the identification device and the optical detection device , characterized in that a) after a predetermined event an image of the movement space detectable by an optical detection device is created with the at least one optical detection device , b) predefined areas of the image of the movement space are compared with corresponding areas of a reference image, c) it is determined, based on the comparison of predetermined areas of the image and the reference image, whether an obstacle is present in the detected portion of the movement space , and d) based on the detection of the presence of an obstacle, corresponding signals are provided. a) after a predetermined event an image of the movement space detectable by an optical detection device is created with the at least one optical detection device , b) predefined areas of the image of the movement space are compared with corresponding areas of a reference image, c) it is determined, based on the comparison of predetermined areas of the image and the reference image, whether an obstacle is present in the detected portion of the movement space , and d) based on the detection of the presence of an obstacle, corresponding signals are provided. <EOS>