Chapter 14. Quaternions and Gimbal Lock: Limiting the Available Space

One of the classic problems with using ordinary 3 × 3 matrices to represent rotations is the possibility of gimbal lock, a phenomenon we explored qualitatively in our introduction. Now we have enough tools to look more carefully at the phenomenon, and to work toward exploring how to understand it, when to expect it, and how to avoid it.

There are basically two related, but quite distinct, phenomena that are referred to as gimbal lock. These are discussed in the sections that follow.

Guidance System Suspension

Figure 14.1 shows the basic configuration of a set of rotatable rings that typically house an inertial guidance system. There is a very specific mechanical problem that can ...

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