Student on a punting boat

Working with McLaren Applied Technologies in the UK

MechE student Will spent 6 months interning in the UK, applying lessons from his MIT classes on a project to automate simulator calibration.

McLaren started as a Formula 1 team before expanding into consumer cars and specialty electronics and composites in the early 2000’s. Now they also do consulting for a range of projects in healthcare, transportation, and sport. 

I was in the Modelling and Decision Sciences group, which handles a variety of projects that focus on handling large amounts of data and producing useful insights. My project was focused on their road car simulator - a platform that allows virtual vehicle models to be tested in multiple scenarios within an immersive environment that would be cost and time prohibitive with a physical vehicle.

Vehicle simulators rely on actuators to replicate the motion of real-life systems. In a car simulator, that consists of a set of motors that produce motion in each degree of freedom. My project has focused on the control system of McLaren’s road car simulator and automating a tool to identify the motor command to output before recommending a solution to move the relationship closer to ideal.

The theory I learned in 2.14 directly applied to what I was doing technically while the project management that I learned while on the FSAE team helped me make sure I identified when I was falling behind as well as pushed me to keep track of everything I did to make sure nothing was forgotten.

“Working at McLaren Applied Technologies gave me a greater perspective of possible career paths that I wouldn’t have gotten in a large company. My team worked on projects ranging from cars to healthcare, and it enabled me to better see where I could take my skills after school.”
Will Harvey
Name
Will Harvey
Class Of
2018
Internship Host
McLaren Applied Technologies
Project subject areas
Mechanical engineering, vehicle simulation, automation, consulting