What Is a Quaternion?
Quaternions are vectors used for computing rotations in mechanics, aerospace, computer graphics, vision processing, and other applications. They consist of four elements: three that extend the commonly known imaginary number and one that defines the magnitude of rotation. Quaternions are commonly denoted as:
This rotation format requires less computation than a rotation matrix.
Common tasks for using quaternion include:
- Converting between quaternions, rotation matrices, and direction cosine matrices
- Performing quaternion math such as norm inverse and rotation
- Simulating premade six degree-of freedom (6DoF) models built with quaternion math
Examples and How To
Software Reference
See also: Euler angles, linearization, numerical analysis, design optimization, real-time simulation, Monte Carlo simulation, model-based testing, Aerospace Toolbox, Aerospace Blockset, Sensor Fusion and Tracking Toolbox