The ACO has announced a partnership with McLaren Applied for the provision of vehicle control units and other sensor hardware to its H24Evo hydrogen fuel cell prototype.
The H24Evo will run McLaren Applied’s latest-generation vehicle controller, the VCU-500, designed specifically for electric racing applications and widely used in Formula E. The unit will function as the main vehicle controller on the H24EVO, providing powertrain and chassis control functionality, interfacing with all other electronic units on the car. The VCU-500 will make a wealth of data available, recording up to 2,000 parameters simultaneously.
The VCU-500 is supported by a complete software toolchain, including McLaren Control Toolbox (MCT), enabling MissionH24 engineers to develop customized control strategies using MATLAB Simulink and System Monitor to calibrate and configure the VCU-500. MissionH24 will also benefit from vTAG simulation tools, used to test code before deploying it on the H24EVO, and to run simulations on live and post-processed data.
Complimenting the VCU will be McLaren Applied’s data analysis software, Atlas, a powerful software package designed to obtain, distribute, display and analyze race car data. The H24EVO will also use McLaren Applied’s TPMS.
Sam Guest, head of telemetry, control and analysis at McLaren Applied, commented, “Our VCU-500 analysis package, tire pressure system and Atlas GT will provide MissionH24 with the latest control systems and analysis tools to optimize the performance of the H24Evo. We look forward to seeing the car on track and supporting our MissionH24 colleagues in achieving their exciting goals and demonstrating the future of hydrogen mobility in the most demanding of endurance races.”
