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rotmat

Convert quaternion to rotation matrix

Since R2021a

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Syntax

rotationMatrix = rotmat(quat,rotationType)

Description

rotationMatrix = rotmat(quat,rotationType) converts the quaternion, quat, to an equivalent rotation matrix representation.

example

Examples

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Open Live Script

Define a quaternion for use in point rotation.

theta = 45;
gamma = 30;
quat = quaternion([0,theta,gamma],"eulerd","ZYX","point")
quat = quaternion
       0.8924 +  0.23912i +  0.36964j + 0.099046k

Convert the quaternion to a rotation matrix.

rotationMatrix = rotmat(quat,"point")
rotationMatrix = 3×3

    0.7071   -0.0000    0.7071
    0.3536    0.8660   -0.3536
   -0.6124    0.5000    0.6124

To verify the rotation matrix, directly create two rotation matrices corresponding to the rotations about the y- and x-axes. Multiply the rotation matrices and compare to the output of rotmat.

theta = 45;
gamma = 30;

ry = [cosd(theta)   0           sind(theta) ; ...
      0             1           0           ; ...
     -sind(theta)   0           cosd(theta)];
 
rx = [1             0           0           ;      ...
      0             cosd(gamma) -sind(gamma) ;     ...
      0             sind(gamma) cosd(gamma)];

rotationMatrixVerification = rx*ry
rotationMatrixVerification = 3×3

    0.7071         0    0.7071
    0.3536    0.8660   -0.3536
   -0.6124    0.5000    0.6124
Open Live Script

Define a quaternion for use in frame rotation.

theta = 45;
gamma = 30;
quat = quaternion([0,theta,gamma],"eulerd","ZYX","frame")
quat = quaternion
       0.8924 +  0.23912i +  0.36964j - 0.099046k

Convert the quaternion to a rotation matrix.

rotationMatrix = rotmat(quat,"frame")
rotationMatrix = 3×3

    0.7071   -0.0000   -0.7071
    0.3536    0.8660    0.3536
    0.6124   -0.5000    0.6124

To verify the rotation matrix, directly create two rotation matrices corresponding to the rotations about the y- and x-axes. Multiply the rotation matrices and compare to the output of rotmat.

theta = 45;
gamma = 30;

ry = [cosd(theta)   0           -sind(theta) ; ...
      0             1           0           ; ...
     sind(theta)   0           cosd(theta)];
 
rx = [1             0           0           ;      ...
      0             cosd(gamma) sind(gamma) ;     ...
      0             -sind(gamma) cosd(gamma)];

rotationMatrixVerification = rx*ry
rotationMatrixVerification = 3×3

    0.7071         0   -0.7071
    0.3536    0.8660    0.3536
    0.6124   -0.5000    0.6124
Open Live Script

Create a 3-by-1 normalized quaternion vector.

qVec = normalize(quaternion(randn(3,4)));

Convert the quaternion array to rotation matrices. The pages of rotmatArray correspond to the linear index of qVec.

rotmatArray = rotmat(qVec,"frame");

Assume qVec and rotmatArray correspond to a sequence of rotations. Combine the quaternion rotations into a single representation, then apply the quaternion rotation to arbitrarily initialized Cartesian points.

loc = normalize(randn(1,3));
quat = prod(qVec);
rotateframe(quat,loc)
ans = 1×3

    0.9524    0.5297    0.9013

Combine the rotation matrices into a single representation, then apply the rotation matrix to the same initial Cartesian points. Verify the quaternion rotation and rotation matrix result in the same orientation.

totalRotMat = eye(3);
for i = 1:size(rotmatArray,3)
    totalRotMat = rotmatArray(:,:,i)*totalRotMat;
end
totalRotMat*loc'
ans = 3×1

    0.9524
    0.5297
    0.9013

Input Arguments

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Quaternion to convert, specified as a quaternion object or an array of quaternion objects of any dimensionality.

Type of rotation represented by the rotationMatrix output, specified as "frame" or "point".

Data Types: char | string

Output Arguments

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Rotation matrix representation, returned as a 3-by-3 numeric matrix or 3-by-3-by-N numeric array.

  • If quat is a scalar, rotationMatrix is returned as a 3-by-3 matrix.

  • If quat is non-scalar, rotationMatrix is returned as a 3-by-3-by-N array, where rotationMatrix(:,:,i) is the rotation matrix corresponding to quat(i).

The data type of the rotation matrix is the same as the underlying data type of quat.

Data Types: single | double

Algorithms

Given a quaternion of the form

q=a+bi+cj+dk ,

the equivalent rotation matrix for frame rotation is defined as

[2a2−1+2b22bc+2ad2bd−2ac2bc−2ad2a2−1+2c22cd+2ab2bd+2ac2cd−2ab2a2−1+2d2] .

The equivalent rotation matrix for point rotation is the transpose of the frame rotation matrix:

[2a2−1+2b22bc−2ad2bd+2ac2bc+2ad2a2−1+2c22cd−2ab2bd−2ac2cd+2ab2a2−1+2d2] .

References

[1] Kuipers, Jack B. Quaternions and Rotation Sequences: A Primer with Applications to Orbits, Aerospace, and Virtual Reality. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2007.

Extended Capabilities

C/C++ Code Generation
Generate C and C++ code using MATLAB® Coder™.

Version History

Introduced in R2021a

See Also

Functions

Objects