Where Am I?
Coordinate frames, transforms, quaternions, and TF trees.
What You'll Learn
- Define what a coordinate frame is and why robots use multiple frames
- Apply homogeneous transforms to convert points between frames
- Build and traverse a transform tree (TF tree) for a multi-joint robot
- Use quaternions for rotation without gimbal lock
- Handle time-varying transforms for moving robot parts
Coordinate Frames
Learn what coordinate frames are, why every sensor and part has its own frame, and how frames let robots understand 'where' things are.
Transforms
Learn how to translate and rotate between frames — the math that lets robots convert 'camera sees this' into 'gripper do that'.
Building a Transform Tree
Learn how robots organize coordinate frames into a tree structure, making it easy to transform between any two frames in the system.
Quaternions Without the Fear
Understand why quaternions exist, what gimbal lock is, and how to use quaternions practically without drowning in 4D hypercomplex math.
Time-Varying Transforms
Learn how coordinate frames change as robots move, how to handle time-stamped transforms, and why interpolation matters for sensor fusion.