Motorised trolley

A motorised trolley comprising:

• a chassis with a load platform;
• left and right drive wheels mounted to the chassis, wherein a respective electric drive motor drives each of the drive wheels;
• an electromechanical service brake on each of the left and right drive wheels;
• an auxiliary brake that mechanically biases at least one of the left and right drive wheels to a braked state;
• at least one electric release actuator for releasing the auxiliary brake;
• a receptacle adapted to receive a power source for supplying power to the drive motors, the electromechanical service brake and the at least one electric actuator;
• handle-mounting structure fixed at its lower end to the chassis;
• an elongate handlebar;
• a pair of force-sensing couplings connecting longitudinally spaced parts of the handlebar to the handle-mounting structure, each force-sensing coupling comprising a resilient member and a load sensor for sensing forces applied by a user to the handlebar and transmitting respective load signals, and
• a controller that receives the load signals and controls a current applied to the electric drive motors so as to amplify the force sensed by the force-sensing couplings and to generate a torque proportional to a force applied by the user to the handlebar and to actuate the at least one electric release actuator when the force applied by the user to the handlebar exceeds a threshold.