Process / pipelineRepresentation

Quaternion Attitude

Quaternion attitude representation is a mathematical framework for describing three-dimensional rotations using four-dimensional vectors (quaternions). Superior to Euler angles due to the absence of singularities (gimbal lock), quaternions are the standard representation in modern attitude estimation, spacecraft control, and 3D computer graphics. Quaternion kinematics elegantly expresses how attitude evolves under angular velocity measurements from gyroscopes.

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Sources

  1. Shuster, M. D. (1993). A survey of attitude representations. Journal of the Astronautical Sciences, 41(4), 439–517. link
  2. Titterton, D. H., & Weston, J. L. (2004). Strapdown Inertial Navigation Technology (2nd ed.). Institution of Engineering and Technology. DOI: 10.1049/PBRA017E
  3. Savage, P. G. (2000). Strapdown inertial navigation integration algorithm design. Part 1: Attitude algorithms. Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics, 21(1), 19–28. DOI: 10.2514/2.4228

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ScholarGateQuaternion Attitude (Quaternion Attitude Representation and Kinematics). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/aerospace/quaternion-attitude