Rotation Matrix

What Is a Rotation Matrix?

A rotation matrix is a matrix used to rotate an axis about a given point. The center of a Cartesian coordinate frame is typically used as that point of rotation. Rotation matrices are used for computations in aerospace, image processing, and other technical computing applications.

The revolution of a rotation matrix is often described with Euler angles, but can also be described in vector form using quaternions.  Although there are many methods to perform a rotation, the most prevalent are based on directional cosine matrices and quaternions.

Common tasks include::

  • Performing 2D and 3D rotations using a single function call
  • Converting between quaternion vectors and rotation matrices
  • Actively using matrix operations for rotation in simulation

For details on implementing a rotation matix, see MATLAB® and Simulink®.

See also: Euler angles, quaternion, Monte Carlo simulation, MATLAB apps, image transform, linearization, Aerospace Blockset, Aerospace Toolbox, Image Processing Toolbox, Simscape Multibody, Symbolic Math Toolbox, robot programming